You Can't Hide From the Past
by SophisticatedBlurb
Summary: With nobody but Chara to help her along, Frisk struggles to move on from her multiple pasts, unable to forgive herself. Sans can't forgive her either, and after he finally pressures her to confess all of her secrets to everybody, will their rejections trigger another reset, or something worse?
1. A New Beginning

**Think I'm going to be putting the author's note at the beginning of these things. Just makes more sense in my mind.**

 **Anyway, hi. I'm UndertaleGurl, super creative name, right?**

 **Okay who am I kidding this is going to be one heck of a ride. For now, I'll be posting whenever I feel like. Possibly multiple times a week, though at least once. I am too excited to get this story off of it's feet and grow wings to soar!**

 **This first chapter has only been up for a day, and I've already gotten hearts (^-^) It fills me with determination to write another chapter!**

 **Loviieesss my little monsters!**

 **Oh, and before I forget, everything in Undertale belongs to Toby Fox, not me! Check out the game if you haven't or you will be confuzzled.**

* * *

"Isn't it beautiful, everyone?"

The question left his lips and suddenly became a reality. The forest stretching out to the distant mountains was actually there, and the sunset full of wonderful swirling colors was plastered across the sky, melting around the setting sun.

There were tears brimming in the king's eyes as his heart swelled, emotion filling his heart. In truth, he never thought he would see the sun again. In fact he recently though that he never even deserved to see it again, but here he was. Here everybody was, staring at this beautiful world before them.

The earth.

A tear rolled down his cheek, but nobody noticed. If they did, there wasn't much room to care. They were feeling just as bewildered by the beautiful scene, and what it meant for their future.

The short, yellow dinosaur in a lab coat was flat out crying. In the underground there were movies that had fallen from the surface, and most of them animes that had beautiful blue skies, but those were nothing compared to this one. Her body trembled, but there was a definite smile plastered on her snout. "Wow… it's even better than on TV. WAY better! Better than I ever imagined!" She was able to take her eyes off of the sunset, however, to glance at the love of her life.

In Alphys' eyes, Undyne was way prettier the the sunset anyway, with the light reflecting off her scales.

Undyne felt a surge of pride at her position. Just a little bit of mercy and look at where it got them all. She noticed Alphys move next to her, and grabbed the monster's hand with a grin. "Frisk! You LIVE with this!?" She was talking to the human child in their midst.

Their hero.

Frisk felt something stir inside of her at the question, and for the first time she reacted to someone since they emerged from the mountain. It was a speck of pity not for the monsters, but for herself. For the fact that she, despite having lived on the surface, was never happy enough to appreciate it. She barely even went outside back then anyway.

"The sunlight is so nice… and the air is so fresh! I really feel alive!" Undyne had the urge to continue, trying to conceive words to describe what she was feeling. Alive was an accurate word, and it showed in her expression.

Frisk thought the fact that someone who had died so much felt alive in this moment. The feeling was relayed to her friend, Chara, who was a ghost. She had rosy cheeks and a cute sweater, and despite being able to talk with Frisk nobody else could see or hear her.

They both held back a misplaced chuckle before Frisk turned back to the sunset, letting out a sigh. A sunrise was one of the last things she saw before falling down the mountain and it was the first time she ever appreciated such a sight as well. This was a sunset, and was possibly even prettier then that morning.

Chara was rather in awe by it all as well. Sure she had been able to float through walls and such, but after waking up there wasn't much interesting going on away from Frisk, and they were connected mentally to a degree, so she never came to the surface.

"HEY SANS…WHAT'S THAT GIANT BALL?" For usually being so loud, a tall, bony skeleton was actually rather toned-down a bit. He stood next to his brother, their bony bodies a stark white in contrast to even the furry creatures.

The so-called-Sans responded happily to Papyrus with a toothy grin. "we call that 'the sun', my friend." His permanent grin was as wide as could be, and he felt a glimmer of hope.

"THAT'S THE SUN? WOWIE! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!" Papyrus may have been taller than his brother, but Sans was older, and a surge of pride went through him. Almost like a teacher who got to experience a child's first math equation with just a little more love involved.

Asgore had listened to his loyal followers with a smile, though he only had eyes for the sun that had once been taken for granted. Never again would that happen. "I could stand here and watch this for hours…"

Honestly, the rest of his life could be spent here. Residing in the mistakes he had repeatedly made, and the war that trapped his kingdom, the one he was supposed to protect, in that bloody mountain.

"Yes, it is beautiful, is it not?"

Even goat mom, the motherly Toriel, had eyes for more than Frisk, however she also had eyes for the future. "But we should really think about what comes next." Her heart was full to bursting with the endless possibilities. She could start a school, which was a secret dream she always held. Only if the humans would accept them of course.

"Oh. Right," Asgore muttered. He may have been their king, but right now, with those very unregal words, it was easy to realize they stood there as friends. He reached and wiped a tear from his fur, letting out a small cough to clear his throat.

"Everyone…. This is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters. Frisk…" He turned to look down at the small child, who stood shrunken by Toriel's side, and smiled. "I have something to ask of you. Will you act as the ambassador to the humans?"

Now everyone was watching Frisk, silently praying she would accept. It gave her an uneasy feeling, and she glanced at her friend Chara, who smiled encouragingly. Silently, with nothing but a nod of her head, she agreed. Chara let out a whoop that caused Frisk to grin, though nobody else could hear the celebratory shout. Everybody was particularly happy in that moment, realizing that this wouldn't be that last of their human friend.

Papyrus immediately began dancing around, being even happier than even Toriel, and ran off down an overgrown trail. He was taking the place of the mascot, apparently, and was already planning on going to set a first impression. Sans decided to do his job as a loving, protective brother and went to keep Papyrus from getting out of trouble. He went the wrong way however, and walked right back into the mountain, much to Undyne's disapproval.

She didn't know better when it came to Sans, so she just laughed and cackled herself away to do his job anyway, dragging Alphys behind. The scaled couple held hands all the way down the mountain, getting closer with each stride and step. Their relationship had been awkward at first, as Alphys couldn't believe her luck, but now on the surface they could take it a step further.

Soon everyone had left to go and explore, even Asgore reluctantly did after a glare from Toriel.

Goat and child stood in silence for a while. Torial was watching the young girl, who was staring quietly at the town in the distance.

"Frisk…" Toriel knelt down in front of the dear child she had grown to love. She was worried that her offer would be declined, but there was still something giving her the hope to ask. The determination to go through with it. "You come from this world...right?" Her motherly features caused Frisk to smile and nod, though her actual thoughts were relayed to Chara.

 _No I come from hell, thank you very much goat lady._

Chara, being connected with the stubborn human let out a sigh at that thought. "I'm really glad you don't speak right now." She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes skyward, sighing.

"So you must have a place to return to, do you not?" Toriel had a feeling Frisk knew exactly where this was going. She was having a lot of feelings though. "What will you do now?"

 _I'm never going back there,_ Frisk thought as she pointed at Toriel.

"What?" Toriel seemed oddly surprised, but happy nonetheless. "Frisk...you really are a funny child…"

Frisk and Chara both smiled, though there was a hint of a grimace behind each one. After giving a speech more to herself than anyone else, Toriel held out a hand. She was warm and fuzzy inside, just like outside, at the prospect of her new child. Frisk refused, though the offer was heartwarming, and gestured towards the sun, waving Toriel goodbye.

'I want to stay a little longer' she signed.

"Oh, alright. Hurry now child, everybody is waiting!" Toriel practically skipped down the trail, eager to tell the others, and brag to Asgore, that Frisk was now a part of her family.

But Frisk…

Frisk was aching.

Chara could feel it.

Frisk still smiled, filled with the determination of a new family!

"Frisk, this is a good ending. It's happy, you can be happy." Chara floated over the edge of the cliff, looking around the world with a content feeling. She was happy too, and excited.

 _I should have died a long time ago, you know. I could have found this ending without killing anybody too. Why didn't you stop me from making those mistakes?_ Frisk randomly asked the question. Chara was startled at first, worried for her friend, but got around to an ideal answer.

"I...I was...I was too weak to try. At first I wasn't strong, and when I finally had the power I didn't want too." She sighed, hugging herself as she looked down at the world below her. Not having anything beneath her feet would take a while to get used to.

 _Undyne was so wrong, Chara. "Frisk? You LIVE with this?" I...no. I never lived with this. It's so...beautiful. This sunset….this was the last thing I saw before going in that hole, and now it's the first thing I see after emerging. What does that mean? Asgore said it was a bright new future….I hope it will be._ The human child was wringing her hands under the long, blue sweater sleeves.

"You can do it, Frisk. You have a family now to help!"

 _Yes. Maybe he's right, but either way, it's the end of a horrid past. But you're right too... I do have a family. I love them all. I can move on._ Once again, she smiled. It felt genuine this time, however. She actually had a chance.

Frisk was so wrong. You can't run from your past, no matter how many there are.


	2. Retirement

**Hey fellow fan-peeps!**

 **For those of you who are enjoying this story, thank you! It really fills me with determination to continue! For those reading this currently, I'll still be re-reading already published chapters and changing some things. (Adding more detail, fixing grammar, ect)**

 **No major plot changes, don't worry. If you see anything that could be improved please let me know!**

 **I'm tired.**

 **Don't judge me.**

 **Do judge my story however and let me know, ;)**

 **Loviieeesss~**

* * *

A large goblet was help above the table, clasped in a large, furry hand that belonged to Asgore, who couldn't stop smiling. Nobody really noticed the gesture, however, because they were all deep into conversation with one another, dwelling in the jovial setting. The king coughed and after a moment the room quieted.

Now, having everybody's attention, he lowered the glass, setting it next to his half-eaten plate of food. His smile faltered, but only because he had to cough. After clearing his throat he finally managed to talk, with everyone watching him expectantly.

"As you all know," he began, his smile widening. "We celebrated our fifth anniversary a few weeks ago, as well as Frisk's birthday." There was a small surge of happiness as most of the monster's glanced toward the sheepish human child.

"During our years here so much has happened, thanks to Frisk accepting to be our ambassador. I've built a great relationship with the mayor, and now we have our own section of town with customized houses. Frisk has spoken on our behalf numerous times, and for that we thank you, Frisk." Now he turned to smile at his daughter, who was obviously flustered.

"Great relationships have been built," he eyed Papyrus and Mettaton, one grinning sheepishly and the other winking, and then smiled at Undyne and Alphys, who had married somewhere in the third year. "As well as relationships re-built." At this his sparkling eyes moved to Toriel, who returned his loving gaze with a wink.

Winking was a great form of communication, apparently.

Chuckling, Asgore smiled even wider than he already was. "And Frisk, who is officially adopted as our daughter, has made it all possible. She's done a wonderful job of being the ambassador, and we are very grateful for that, but now we have come to announce something."

Asgore paused and glanced to Frisk to double-check. The young girl's expression was suddenly very determined, and she nodded at him.

The exchanged was watched with many curious looks. What could be so important that Asgore was giving a speech?

"Frisk is retiring."

The table erupted into a frenzy of surprise, though Papyrus's surprised gasps and Undyne's protesting shouts drowned out most everybody else's opinions.

"What!? Punk, you're too young to retire!"

"WHAT? BUT HUMAN! I CANNOT SERVE ALONE! WHO WILL ACCOMPANY ME TO MASCOTTING?"

Asgore had to hold back his laughter and it took a second to compose himself before drawing attention to his goblet once again, which he lifted off the table.

"Calm down, friends! Toriel and I believe it is best for the child, and Frisk agrees. She was the one who proposed the idea, actually. She will be starting highschool, and Toriel realized there would be too much homework and ambassador work that would clash and she wouldn't have much freedom to enjoy her teenagerhood. We want our Frisk to have fun too, of course!"

Nobody protested, and Frisk smiled.

"Well who will be our ambassador then, might I ask?" Mettaton raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.

"We don't need an ambassador," Toriel explained. "It's been five years. The humans have gotten used to us, and us to them. We are living in peace now, and there is no reason to have an Ambassador. If the need arises Frisk can speak for our race, but for now there is absolutely no need."

"So you're going to be a normal kid then, kiddo?" This question was asked by Sans, who sat directly across the table from Frisk. She could easily decipher the meaning behind his words, and flashed a wink back.

"Normal is boring, Sansie." His forever grin darkened just a bit, and her glare was hidden by a smile.

There was a moment of silence at the table, and for a second both of the competitors were worried others would notice the venom in their voices.

 **I hate that trashbag.** Chara's voice came out of nowhere and startled Frisk out of her glaring contest with Sans. In an attempt to recover she turned to Asgore and gestured for him to continue. It was probably a good move considering everyone had been watching them.

During their time on the surface, Chara and Frisk had grown really close. It was impossible not to, seeing as both were connected in mind and soul. Frisk was stronger, being the one alive, and could shut Chara completely off for a while, but only did in when they wanted some alone time.

They also both hated Sans, who hated them too. Sans had moved in with Tori and Asgore when Papyrus had Mettaton move in with him, so at this time everybody else considered their banter to be sibling rivalry for the most part. The closest they got to being punished was when Toriel found them in a shouting match and had them sit in a room together until they apologized.

 _You know, Chara, if I had gone through without killing anybody a lot earlier, he might have been able to forgive me, and might actually be like a brother._

 **I highly doubt that for some reason. Now listen, Asgore is going to talk again.** Chara directed Frisk back to the table, drawing her friend away from depressing thoughts.

Sure enough, Asgore raised his goblet one more time. "I propose a toast to our Frisk, not just savior, but friend, family, and wonderful ambassador. As well as a beautiful daughter, of course. May your childhood be beautiful!"

Everybody rose their glasses now. Scaled hands and bony ones. Furry hands and a metallic one. And then, of course, the small human hand that held up her own glass of juice.

Chara watched with a pang of jealousy, but quickly shoved it aside. That wouldn't do. She mentally raised her own glass and smiled.

"To Frisk!" Everybody laughed, moving to take a large swig of their drinks. Undyne finished hers in one gulp, slamming it down on the table. "Good one Frisk! I think you made the right choice! Fuhuhuhuhu." Her voice was a bit warbly and her words slurred. The alcohol was getting to her. She had taken to whisky not long after they got to the surface. Unhealthy, maybe, but definitely hilarious.

Alphys didn't think it was that funny, however, and casually moved Undyne's cup away. "Y-yeah Frisk, thanks. You've been a great f-friend."

"Definitely! Now who wants some pie!" Mettaton had smiled, turning his gaze to a surprised Toriel. "Darling, did you expect me to think you weren't going to make some for Frisk tonight?"

"Oh, of course. Seem's like I'm getting crusty at this age." There were a few chuckles and groans before Mettaton walked right into her trap.

"Definitely, Tori."

"Oh, you want a piece of me?" Standing, she wiggled her eyebrows and bared her teeth jokingly. Sans laughed his head off and Papyrus groaned.

"TORIEL SURELY THE HUMAN IS TIRED OF THE PUNS. LET'S JUST HAVE THE PIE PLEASE." He begged her, pleading with his eyes.

"Pretty sure ya mean pierd, paPIErus!" Sans let out a very obnoxious guffaw, throwing his head back and laughing at his brilliance, it wasn't just one pun, but two! In the same sentence! His brother was even more irritated now, considering his very own name had been used in the form of a pun. The brothers met eye contact, one frowning and one glaring daggers. If Papyrus could ever muster up courage to hurt someone, it would probably be his brother. Sure they loved eachother, but Sans' deserved a few pinches.

This time the groan was unanimous, and even Frisk and Alphys groaned. Toriel still giggled, of course, covering her wide grin with a paw. After that a few more puns were passed around until Undyne threatened to give Sans and Tori an eye that matched her own. They undyned down after that. Papyrus was, once again, grateful for his violent friend.

The meal was delicious, the desert even more so, and with bellies full they chatted about fun memories and talked about upcoming events, like Mettaton's newest tour. He was going to be starting in a month or so and going on his biggest one yet.

Overall the evening left Frisk feeling depressed and exhausted, recalling not just the current timeline, but all of the other ones. Chara tried to help, sharing some of her happiness, but Frisk just shrugged it off and continued with a smile on her face as they played a game of monopoly.

She was content at moments like this, when she could forget about her past and look at monsters without seeing dust. But they were still there, and exhaustion made her hate herself even more.

It was funny that Sans was the only one who noticed her concealed feelings, and the same went for her. They could read each other, but neither one would ever forgive the other. Frisk was willing to forgive Sans if he forgave her, but it didn't seem like that was happening anytime soon.

 **Hey Frisk, try to get Boardwalk. It hel-**

 _I know, Chara. Let me play the game, okay?_ Frisk snapped back at her friend, trying not to slam her hand down on the board.

 **Geez girl. What are you, 13? You should probably get to bed soon or else you'll be snapping at everybody.** Chara might have glared if she could.

 _I can go to bed but I won't fall asleep for another few hours, you know._

 **Yeah,** Chara sighed, **but you can't snap at anybody there.**

Frisk realized Chara was probably right, and after her turn she passed on her piece to Toriel, who hadn't really wanted to play, but did for Frisk's sake. She could at least tell her child was getting tired.

Frisk gave her and everybody else hugs. She saved Sans for last, and they parted with evil smiles. It was their demented little game, and nobody had ever noticed the harsh words and curses they wished upon one another as a goodnight.

"i hope you burn in hell in your little dreams." Sans chuckled, patting her harshly on the back.

"And I hope you end up in a dump like the trash that you are," she whispered to him. It was the only time of day she usually spoke, and he was blessed with her words.

 **I wish nobody else liked him but it's just us. Remember how you used to laugh at his puns?** Chara sighed, recalling the obnoxious jokes that they admittedly both used to enjoy.

 _If I hadn't slapped him that one time he wouldn't have stopped making so many._

 **That was hilarious**. Chara laughed as Frisk stepped back from Sans, remembering that moment fondly.

 _You're a bad influence._

'Goodnight everybody! I love you!' Frisk signed. Her gaze scanned over everybody and she waved, before eyeing Sans, who waved cheekily back. She glared just long enough before anybody could notice and then turned on her heel and hurried up the stairs, chuckling to herself.

 _Okay maybe it was hilarious._

Frisk shut Chara out while changing into her Pj's and finishing her toiletries. They could always do that, so there was never any awkward moments unless Frisk happened to forget, which had happened before. After Frisk braided her hair, she curled up in her blankets, sitting for a moment before letting Chara back in.

Immediately obnoxious singing filled her mind.

 **I LOVE YOOUUUUU, YOU LOVE MEEEE! LE-**

 _Shut up Chara, you sound awful!_ Frisk scolded, her ears ringing. Not technically her ears, but her mind was very much overpowered.

 **Oh. Heh. Hi Frisk. I was thinking you fell asleep. So, what's the game plan tonight? Prevent sleeping for as long as possible or shut me out and try?**

 _I think I'm going to try and get some sleep tonight, Chara. I'm really tired. Sorry._

 **No. It's about time you catch up, Frisk. I can feel how exhausted you are in the mornings you know. Call on me if the nightmares get too bad. I'll be close.**

Chara left Frisk's mind and appeared hovering next to the bed, her transparent body barely visible. They could separate from one another any time, and it mostly disconnected their senses from one another, but thoughts and emotions could still be shared. "I'll be exploring! Might even go see what's bothering sans at this time of the night."

 _Night Char. Thanks._

"Night Frisk!"

With that Chara disappeared through a wall, going to stalk sans. Frisk pulled up her inner walls, blocking Chara off. It was for the better. Even though they were connected, Frisk never let Chara read her thoughts, or watch her in her sleep.

That was okay with Chara because Frisk didn't go prowling around either.

Though if she knew the things that haunted Frisk's mind there would be a very long speech.

Hell, if anyone saw even a glimpse of the things that went inside Frisk's mind they might send her to the asylum.

But of course she kept it to herself, late at night, when no one else was around.


	3. Nightmares

**Someone asked if I updated the previous chapters. Yes, yes I did. By update I simply fixed some grammar issues and made transitions smoother. And for those of you who didn't see the fact that I did update those chapters, feel free to go and re-read them. I'll still continue to fix any grammar errors I see too, so feel free to offer some suggestions.**

 **Sorry if this took a while, I've been being dramatic in reality.**

 **Enjoy! :)**

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Chara sung to herself, gently patting Sans' head. Her hand almost went through his thick skull, but that might have been slightly uncomfortable for the both of them so she backed away. She might have not been able to feel and not able to physically touch anything, but simply the idea of her hand inside his skull was scary. Plus, even a ghostly hand in your head would feel weird.

Even if he did wake up, he wouldn't see her. Nobody ever did.

They never saw the ghost with brown-red eyes and rosy cheeks. Frisk was the only one who could communicate with Chara, and even then it was mostly just in the child's head. She could leave and wander of her own will, of course, but both kids found that it worked better to just stick together mostly. Chara, for example, was able to see, feel, hear, and smell from Frisk's perspective. When she was a ghost none of those things were possible.

It wasn't that she didn't mind being able to pry without being seen, but more of the fact that the world did get kinda lonely when Frisk was sleeping.

They were best friends, how could they not be? Separation always brought on a sense of loneliness and emptiness, considering the fact that both were used to the voice of the other commenting on life.

Frisk was in control of the walls that separated them, however. She could close them entirely, or completely open them and let emotions and thoughts through, though they never did that before. Usually both were satisfied with a window through which to communicate, though Frisk shut it when going to sleep.

That was when Chara was really alone. When Frisk's presence was only faint, like a memory way in the back of her mind. When once again her thoughts would return the LV, and she would wish for dust and blood.

There were times when Chara considered cutting herself off from Frisk entirely to die. She still wanted to, but Frisk needed her. They were connected by this thin string. If the string was cut, Chara would die. If Chara would die, Frisk wouldn't be able to hold herself together.

They made promises to one another, to try and go on.

It still didn't stop Chara from wanting to murder people. Monsters were much too nice, but anyone who bullied or teased Frisk at school was on her death list. LV was a powerful drug, and it never entirely went away. It gave her a deadly yearning for it every day, that she would have eased long ago had Frisk not been in control.

She knew Frisk wanted to hurt them too, at least. She had tasted the LV as well.

They were both psychopaths. When you are raised learning to hurt things for the first part of your life, that stage where you are truly formed, it's hard to break out of that trance. And then after that having a drug that you cannot get enough of and that slowly drains your sanity.

Honestly, if Asriel hadn't found Chara that day in the underground, she might have killed too. At least hurt, and there would have been no way for her to go back. She was grateful, once again, for her best friend, even though he betrayed her. His soul had been too kind to kill those humans.

Chara tried to control him, but she hadn't been strong enough then.

When Frisk came along, weak and full of determination, she was the perfect subject. Chara easily stole her LV and became powerful. Strong enough to start over, and fix what happened in her past. At first she didn't know what to do, and simply watched and accompanied the human who could see her, but then things started getting violent. That was when Chara realized they, together, could have lots of power.

But Frisk…"I still can't believe she stopped. I still wish we had gone through with it...but now, seeing everybody….they are all so happy right now. I suppose I should be glad Frisk managed to stop me. Not everyone is happy, but never in any world will everybody be happy. Heh."

She floated over to the window, letting out a sigh. "Frisk is really nice Azzy...but...I still wish you could be here too. Maybe, someday when Frisk doesn't need me anymore, I'll come find you."

She had taken to talking to herself late at night.

The stars hung in the sky and she watched Undyne and Alphys walk hand-in-hand to their house. Alphys had her hand on her stomach, and Undyne was smiling down at both of them. _Heh. Thought she was with child. Now I just have to keep it a surprise from Frisk_.

Papyrus and Mettaton soon followed. They made such an unusual, gay couple. Mettaton was so freaking gay, but it had been a surprise to everyone when Papyrus ended up falling in love with the robot.

Yes. I suppose this world is better than anything I had in mind. I'm not a god, I shouldn't make those decisions.

The world passed by slowly, Chara keeping to herself. Eventually Frisk's friend's houses had settled down. Sans was still sleeping peacefully, for once.

Chara decided to check on him.

He usually had waken up by this time of the night. Just rolled over and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm his breathing. Both him and Frisk had gotten really good at concealing their nightmares.

No one else had apparently, and even Sans couldn't withstand the oncoming storm. It scared whatever living hell Chara had left right out of her when Sans woke up with a shout, which was quickly followed by several others.

Lights flashed on in the corner of her vision and Chara shot over to the window, seeing Papyrus and Undyne's houses light's turn on. Surprised, she quickly flew to her parent's room, seeing that they, too, were awake.

Everybody was awake.

Asgore and Toriel hugged each other, and Asgore, though clearly frightened himself, tried to comfort his speechless wife, who was laughing as tears ran down her fur.

"What the hell is going on?" Chara asked herself, confusion overpowering any common sense.

The same atmosphere was in the other monster's houses as well. Even Muffet and Grillby were awake in their houses, seemingly too startled to turn their lights back off.

That small presence in the back of her mind flared for a moment before dying back down, and Chara's eyes widened. _Frisk_! She realized she hadn't checked on her friend, and hurriedly flew her way back to their room. It was very surprising to see the girl hugging her pillow, not crying, not screaming, but sound asleep.

She was even smiling, but that didn't help at all.

"Okay so how are you sleeping for the first time in your life, but everybody else woke at literally the same time? From nightmares? Sans had one too!" Groaning in confusion, she went to check on the skeleton, who was sitting on his bed and staring at the sock tornado.

His eye was glowing, and he seemed to be pouting like a little child who lost his toy car. He was leaning on his wall, and let out a short sigh. "You're a really bad friggin influence on that kid," he muttered. If Chara hadn't been spooked before, she was now. Sans had just spoke. In the middle of the night. Wide awake. To her? She looked towards the tornado, which the skeleton had been watching not long ago, only to look back and find him staring at his shaking hands.

He had apparently been talking about himself, which only confused the ghost even more. How had he been a bad influence on Frisk?

Her mind hurt. Chara gave up and decided to talk to Frisk about it the next morning, floating over to their room. The strange sense of peace that resonated from Frisk was comforting, and she was glad that Frisk was getting a good night's sleep for once, even if everybody else wasn't.

She didn't give a rat's arse about Sans anyway.

Chara couldn't sleep, and even if she could there was really no need to, but sometimes her mind needed a rest. And right now everything was a confusing chaotic jumble of theories, so Chara snuggled up in a corner and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the fact that Frisk was okay for a night.

Eventually she managed to fall into a brainless stupor, the closest thing she would ever get to sleep. She remained that way until the sun rose and waved it's rays at Frisk, who awoke shortly after.

Her sobbing snapped Chara back to reality.

Frisk awoke crying that morning. At first Chara was worried, until Frisk's emotions flooded her own.

She was happy. The realization Frisk had when she awoke was so overwhelming, that feeling of being well rested, that she started to cry. Her heart was so light that Chara could barely help herself from crying along from the sudden but welcome emotion. Hope.

Frisk was full of hope, and even the splinter of darkness coming from Chara couldn't make it go away, although it did drag the joyful child out of her happy tears.

She sniffled, smiling all the while, and wiped her eyes. _Sorry Chara. It's...this is a great feeling. But, are you okay?_

Chara smiled back, stretching her limbs right through the wall. "You know I'd love to let you stay this happy and all. Smiling is good for you, Frisk. I'm also very glad that you didn't have a nightmare. That's great!" Chara was grinning and floated over to her bed, sitting as best she could on it. "But that doesn't mean no one else had nightmares."

Frisk's face fell, but then she smiled. _Sans, right? Is he still suffering, I mean...Does he still have them?_

"He did have one, but plural, Frisk. Everybody had nightmares. Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, your parents, and they all woke at the same time. Coincidence? I think not." Chara tried to explain as best as she could, her voice taking on a very grave tone.

Now Frisk's smile had really faded, but no thoughts broke through to Chara. In fact, she didn't even feel anything. There was just an iron wall that slammed up between them, without even a window. Not even thoughts. For the first time she really alone, without the presence of Frisk lingering. Free even, to feel her own emotions and hear her own thoughts. It was very worrying, and she reached out a transparent hand to Frisk.

"Hey. Can you hear me? What-"

 _Go away Chara. Go far away, let me think!_ Frisk's voice broke into Chara's mind and overwhelmed her thoughts for a moment because it was so loud. Frisk had shouted at her, emotions breaking away for a moment and stampeding Chara until her friend's walls closed again.

She knew better than to argue, and did just as Frisk asked, moving far, far away.

Frisk was completely mortified. Her earlier happiness had been completely replaced with a strong sense of fear. It was undoubtedly no coincidence that the first night she manages to sleep, her friends all suffer from nightmares and wake up at the same time.

Unless Chara was lying, but Frisk had felt the fear coming from her friend too.

Oh fudge this wasn't good at all.

 _Okay, take a deep breath. Breathe, Frisk, breathe. Just go downstairs and they will be there. Maybe the nightmares had nothing to do with you. They probably did and they are going to hate me oh no. Oh. No._

She felt it start to happen. Her body started to feel tingly and the world started spinning. Ice shot through her veins and suddenly she couldn't move. She wanted to run but her heart was racing too fast. She couldn't breathe. The walls seemed to be closing in on her and she shut her eyes to stop the spinning, gasping for breath and trying to hold back tears.

 _Just go downstairs. Frisk. GO._

Somehow she did manage to move. She sent her legs over the side of the bed and followed, just barely able to stand. Breathing constricted, it only caused her to panic more. Her body was quaking and it was all she could feel.

 _They're okay. They're okay. They won't hate me. THEY WERE JUST DREAMS._

She mentally screamed at herself and ran. Her sense of direction was completely misguided and the world never ceased spinning, but somehow she made it through her room and out the door. The stairs were next, but she could barely focus on them. In her state there was no time to register them, and instead of managing to run down she completely missed, tumbling.

It never ended and the world kept spinning, and spinning, and spinning. It was an endless roller coaster of fear that she couldn't leave. Fire was all around, trapping her in her mind, while panic and reality became meshed as one.

 _I can't breathe. Breathe. I. Can't. Oh fudge._

Even in her chaotic mind she felt warm arms wrap around her burning body. Someone was talking, and Frisk tried to listen. To gain a sense of focus and to know she wasn't dead. Her eyes snapped open and she stared at Toriel's blurry face.

There were eyes. The eyes were real.

There was a voice. A calm, soothing voice telling her it was going to be okay. It was real.

There was a smell. It was like a kitchen and pie and breakfast mushed into one.

It was her mom.

And her mom was real.

Real. Breathe Frisk. Breathe.

Eventually she managed to grasp the sounds of her gasping voice, struggling for air. She was able to control it, and wipe away the tears streaming down her voice.

"Frisk? My child, are you okay?" Toriel was very worried.

She had been holding Frisk for about ten minutes, and the poor thing would not stop shaking. Asgore was panicking, but she got him to call all their friends and make tea to keep him busy. It was a major relief for both of them when Frisk began snapping out of her panic, her eyes stopping their darting back and forth.

Her hands were shaking, but somehow the poor girl managed to signal that she was fine, and had tripped down the stairs. She weakly smiled up at Toriel, who recoiled for a moment with what looked like horror. She shook her head and smiled back, however.

"You must have hit your head hard! You were barely able to breathe for almost ten minutes, Frisk. Oh, please, come have some tea. Asgore made some." Toriel spoke, standing with Frisk wrapped in her warm, fuzzy arms. They were still strong, but slightly imposing in her space, which was still spinning a little bit. Tori smiled to herself though her eyes wide and shaken.

 _10 minutes! Oh go- No. Breathe._

Frisk barely managed a nod.

Less than half an hour later she was on her third glass of tea, and just beginning to slow down. It's magical properties had helped her headache as well as calmed her down for the most part.

Toriel and Asgore were silent, their questions for her well-being slowing down after she stopped visibly shaking.

She was still working on a whole network of lies in her head, ready to tell anyone of them to prevent her parents from wondering what really happened. It was the truth, that she fell down the stairs, but tired being the cause was far fetched.

Sans had been in the kitchen when she arrived and glanced nervously at her for a moment before winking. She didn't notice then, but after a bit of recovering she winked back with a vicious grin.

Toriel noted this exchange, and raised an eyebrow. It was confusing, to say the least, but this day had already been crazy enough since her nightmare. First that, and then Frisk falling down the stairs, and her already tearful face matching the expression of the heartbroken Frisk in her dreams. She coughed, breaking the two's staring contest, and tried to look relaxed. "Why were you so tired, my child? I was tired as well, but I did not fall down the stairs." Toriel asked, gripping Asgore's hand nervously.

'I guess I had some trouble waking up or I misplaced a step,' Frisk signed in response. 'Sorry for the worry, but I'm feeling better now. Maybe a little bruised, but the tea is fixing that up.'

Asgore smiled at that, and was about to speak when Sans interrupted, turning towards the small, happy family. There was a window behind him and it cast an eerie shadow that sent shivers up Frisk's spine, as it looked just like Sans did that day in judgement hall.

Or those many days.

"I dunno bout that, Frisk. looked to me like you straight up ran right off the stairs." Sans shrugged casually, and Frisk visibly tensed.

"Wait, what? My child, is this true?" Toriel wouldn't have believed Sans if it wasn't for Frisk's reaction, but she still doubted if that was the truth. At this rate though she shouldn't be surprised, but her child wouldn't do that.

Frisk wasn't expecting Sans to interrupt, and she didn't recall seeing him, but she was a skilled liar. Practice helped with that. 'I don't know why I would run off the stairs. I was just tumbling forward after losing my footing.' It was, once again, partially the truth. She did run, but not purposely. She tried to go down the stairs but lost her footing, which was something that was practically impossible to grab at the time.

Asgore had been staring at Sans intently. "Of course, Frisk. Sans, why would you think that?"

Sans shrugged and turned back to washing the dishes, leaving a very confused Asgore and Toriel. Frisk held back a smile and took another sip of her tea, softly tapping her fingers against the counter.

"might have just been my mind taking a bit to catch up too," Sans finally muttered, letting out a sigh. He broke the tense silence without so much as a second thought, hoping not to raise suspicions. Asgore and Toriel said nothing, but exchanged curious glances.

After offering Frisk another cup of his tea, Asgore remembered he had called everyone in their moment of panic. He was about to inform Frisk when she suddenly morphed into something different. Her face looked insanely different, and yet familiar at the same time. It was horrifying, but similar to that of one of his children, the one that haunted his dreams the night before.

A few moments of silence passed as he tried to get over it, taking deep breaths, but soon the doorbell rang. He might have jumped out of his fur if he hadn't been holding Tori's hand. She let go and turned to get it, but Frisk jumped up and insisted. She felt like it would make her parents feel that she had really recovered.

And she had, other then the after effect that left her internally shocked.

The walk to the door was quick, but as she stood her vision blacked for a moment. She grasped the counter before smiling at Tori, and then hurried to the front door. It was only because of a gut feeling that she knew who was at the door, but it still surprised her to open it and see her friends, holding plenty of things that looked similar to bandages.

They looked very surprised to see her answering as well, and Mettaton was first in line. He smiled and opened his arms to embrace her in a hug when everything went dark for Frisk.


	4. Lots of hugs

**This chapter is more or less filler. Actually, it's pretty filler. I try not to make everything pointless, however, cuz why not? There is some very valuable information wrapped up like a burrito. It's not all filler basically.**

 **Thanks to those people who have been enjoying and reading my story! I appreciate it!**

 **Also I still look for writing advice, so if you see anything that irks y'all lemme know!**

 **Looovviieeess~**

* * *

Mettaton had engulfed Frisk in a hug so tight she could hardly breathe. Her face was pressed against his black armor and she quickly hugged him back, hoping to see the light of day before he suffocated her. After having a panic attack the compressing feeling wasn't welcome. Her arms were tense and rigid, and she barely managed a smile against him even though he couldn't really feel it. He could definitely feel the tension between them though, and reluctantly let go, concerned.

"Sorry darling, I was so excited to see that you are okay!" Mettaton hurriedly apologized, smiling down at her. He held her shoulders loosely, waiting for a response.

She looked up at him and smiled back to signal that it was fine, but his face twisted into a look of horrified shock, and he pulled his arms back to himself.

Now Frisk was confused, and her smile faded, which caused the morphed, twisted grin to blurr out of Mettaton's head. He took a couple deep breaths, smiling again.

Finally he managed to push the wicked, dust covered smile out of his mind and looked back down at her, quickly processing and excuse for his reaction. He patted her head, letting out a scoff. "I know you fell, but that is no excuse to let your hair be and utter mess!"

The child was confused, and it showed on her face, but when she reached up to pat her head she realized it was a mess. Some tangle mess. She flushed, glancing down. Had it really been that long since her friends had a sleepover and saw her morning self?

They had all gotten awfully busy, spending plenty of couple time together.

Frisk knew exactly what that was because Undyne wasn't very good at explaining things quietly that she gets excited about. It wasn't like the whole school didn't talk about it all the time either.

Finally, getting sick of waiting, Undyne shoved her way around the robot, who was still standing there dumbstruck. She stood beside him, hands on her hips, and looked Frisk up and down. "Punk, you look awful!" There was no hesitation in the fluid movement of her sweeping Frisk up and a chokehold and nooging her.

That feeling wasn't welcome, especially when her head was sore from falling down the stairs, a fact Undyne had seemed to forget until Frisk let out a small whimper. She immediately released her bestie, apologizing.

She felt extremely guilty, so it was a relief when Frisk smiled up at her, and then engulfed her in an adorable little hug. Undyne put her hands up in reflex, not wanting to hurt anyone again, and Frisk thought it was pretty funny. She let out an amused chuckle.

Undyne froze in place, her eyes wide. Mettaton raised a brow, but she couldn't stop the ridged shiver that ran up her spine at the wicked laugh an innocent chuckle had turned into. She took a slow breath and looked down, patting her friend's head, and apologizing again. "Sorry, punk. Didn't mean to give you that hard of a noogie."

Once again Frisk laughed, causing Undyne to momentarily pause before both broke awake, each feeling especially awkward. Undyne was frozen stiff, actually, remembering the nightmare that plagued her sleep. As Mettaton and Frisk continued to talk she managed to snap out of it and focus on reality.

Both of the tall monsters looked at eachother, each exchanging nervous glances, one thought trailing through their head. Was it a hallucination, or were they both freaking?

Frisk coughed.

Mettaton jarred and then laughed, patting Frisk on the back. "Darling, love you too, but I need to move or else the others will catch a chill!" Frisk had given him a quick make-up hug for the awkward one earlier, but stepped aside to let the others in.

"Y-yes please," Alphys stuttered, stepping into the cozy house with an awkward smile. She almost screamed when Undyne picked her up in a mad dash, having forgot about her wife. The almost scream turned into an adorable anime sound, and both of the monsters blushed.

Everybody awkwardly looked away. Yeah, they were very cute, but when they smooched it was too much. Eventually Undyne let Alphys down but still held her hand.

This inspired Papyrus, who had let himself in last and gently closed the door. He snuck up behind Frisk and swooped her up in his arms. "HUMAN, I WAS VERY WORRIED FOR YOU! METTATON INFORMED ME THAT ASGORE CALLED AND SAID YOU WERE HURT AND I WANTED TO MAKE YOU SPAGHETTI, BUT HE SAID WE SHOULD HURRY SO YOU DON'T MISS US!"

Frisk giggled and signed. 'Thanks Papyrus, glad you hurried, though I would have loved spaghetti!' Papyrus beamed in response, and eventually Frisk had to ask him to put her down. Once again the constricting arms were scaring her, and this time her feet weren't even on the ground. Her toes were inches away, considering Papyrus was almost as tall as Asgore.

Her put her down with another quick squeeze, feeling very protective of her for some reason. It might have been the nightmares that caused it, but that was unlikely. He was trying to care for his friend, and pushing any bad thoughts to the back of his head. No sense to be scared when you can be happy!

It seemed everybody else was jumpy, however. Nobody could be as optimistic as him of course.

Undyne was still chilled, though she was able to function. When Frisk giggled or chuckled, it sent a shiver up her spine. It sounded creepy and maniacal almost, with barely a hint of the usual girly manner that made it adorable. Though, of course, there was the breaking soul behind that laugh. She could almost see the tears streaming down Frisk's face as they had been in that dream….

Mettaton was rather perplexed as well, because Frisk's smile was simply menacing. It would be perfectly okay for a moment, and then his mind would morph the sweet, innocent grin into a pitiful thing. Almost like they were trying to hold back tears, while still grinning malevolently. He couldn't help but be creeped out by the whole matter. He knew Papyrus had a nightmare too, though of what type he didn't know, but Undyne was acting strange too. Now that he thought about it, everybody had acted differently at some point….

Alphys had been working on meeting people's gazes. In order to do that she would focus on what color their eyes were, and then fear would keep her from looking away. Frisk was easiest, considering they were similar in height, and her eyes were a warm, kind brown, with a bit of red color. Frisk normally had her eyes closed partway, but today they looked redder. Almost to an extreme….

Toriel and Asgore had seen the same thing. Except Toriel's version of the smile was ridden with tears, and Asgore's had tears running through the dust. They both talked to each other about it, knowing what keeping secrets and feelings did in their past, and to say they were creeped out would be fairly accurate. Especially as it haunted them each time their child smiled.

Papyrus was as cool as ever, ignoring the tearful face that popped into his mind.

But Sans hadn't changed one bit. Each time he looked at Frisk, the memories would come swirling back. They haunted him day and night, and he could never forgive that. Not when they still existed.

Overall, Frisk noticed something was off.

Everybody was standing in a big cluster near the front door. Frisk was somewhere near the middle, crowded by tall and wide monsters. Nobody seemed to consider how awkward Frisk was feeling, until finally Toriel coughed.

"I'm sorry, I'm rather tired today. In fact….it seems like everyone is rather out of it." She noticed this when it took everyone a couple seconds to look her way. "It is a rather gloomy day today. Asgore made plenty of tea, at the rate Frisk was going. Why don't you come help yourselves?"

This really woke everybody up. Even the idea of Asgore's tea had their mouths watering, and they all hurried to the rather large kitchen. It was built to suit Asgore, who was rather huge, and Toriel practically lived there, so they had it built rather large. Monster-sized, one might call it.

There were a couple extra tall stools around the center island made mostly for Frisk, but Alphys and Sans liked to use them too. You can't have a group of friends without there being a short one. There is always a short one.

Undyne was leaning against the fridge, resting her hands behind her scaly head, her callused fingers interwoven in the bright red hair. She knew just how to put it up to either look scary, or simply gorgeous. But either way, Alphys still stared at her wife in awe.

She still couldn't wrap her head, even being a scientist, around the fact that the strong warrior loved her. She smiled to herself, and leaned on the smooth counter. It was freshly polished, and she could almost see her reflection in the beautiful granite.

There was so much beauty above ground.

But even below ground they had stood united because of Frisk, so it was still very unnerving to be having nightmares about her. They were all very terrified of it.

"Alright. 8 cups of tea coming up? Unless you want another one, Frisk." Asgore was holding the large tea pot, and glanced towards Frisk, who shook her head. She was feeling better for the most part, and pretty full.

There was a lot of tea in her small little belly.

Asgore passed out the tea in coffee cups. They all had beautiful floral patterns, except for the two that said "Dad" and "Mom." Frisk, with the help of Chara had made them.. Asgore had fallen in love with tea cups the first time he saw them, but soon discovered that his paws, as well as most monster's, were too big to handle them. He mourned for a week over that broken cup.

Frisk smiled fondly at the memory, staring down at the counter. She ran her finger over the intricate patterns, still trying to understand why exactly everyone was acting weird. When the thought hit her, she almost had another panic attack, and the smile was instantly gone, her finger halting in it's twisting path.

The nightmares…

 _Chara! CHARA!_ Frisk called out to her friend, opening a door between them. Everybody was sipping their tea and chatting quietly between savor the golden flavour, so they didn't notice her mood change.

 _FRISK WHAT. WHAT'S HAPPENING?_ Chara screamed at Frisk, and the poor girl almost fell off her chair.

 _Don't scream at me please there are people around._ Frisk begged, though she had almost sent herself flying off the chair with her revelation.

 **Okay….sorry? You seemed scared**. The sudden jolt of fear Chara had felt from Frisk was very startling, but she may have overreacted a tad. She was already flying back from her hiding place.

She had been sitting under a tree that the girls had visited when they were younger. It was a great safehaven for them both when they wanted to get away from the chaos of the huge move, as well as stressed out monsters, which were not fun.

 _Everybody has been acting really weird. I had hit my head so I thought th_ -Frisk tried to explain, but was hastily interrupted.

 **You hit your head?! Frisk, what happened?!** Chara's worry flooded through the door, and Frisk immediately shrunk the opening, not wanting to share that feeling. She already had enough of her own, and it was slightly overwhelming.

She briefly explained to Chara that she fell down the stairs, and Asgore had everyone come over while she recovered, which only took about 10 minutes considering she had hit her head pretty hard. Anyway, Chara, they were acting weird, and I just connected it to the nightmares. They all seem really uncomfortable, and things are awfully quiet.

 **That would make sense. I'll be there soon.** Chara quieted, probably focusing on floating her way back. She was brainstorming the possibilities, but still chuckled when Frisk's thought came through to her a bit later.

Frisk nodded, and zoned back into reality. Alphys was staring at her and as she looked around, she realized everybody else was too. _ohcraphowmuchdidImiss!?_

 **Good job.**

"Um, I thought you didn't want anymore tea…?" Asgore coughed, raising an eyebrow.

Slightly confused, Frisk nodded again to cover it up. They figured she was just being silly, and shrugged it off.

"So what happened? I-is Frisk okay?" Alphys awkwardly shifted on her chair, trying to bring up conversation. She didn't mind silence, but no one else was bringing up the question that really worried her.

Toriel smiled to herself.

"Frisk is alright. She had some tea, which helped her headache. She misplaced her footing on the steps, and then ended up tumbling down the stairs. She hit her head really hard, but other than that we are very lucky she didn't break anything!"

'I'll definitely have some bruises though,' Frisk signed.

"WELL WE WILL MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALL BETTER!" Papyrus laughed. "WITH LOTS OF LOVE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Frisk smiled and continued signing. 'I need to go get dressed. I look pretty shaken up right now I think.'

"Oh nah, Punk, you're good." Undyne waved her hand in dismissal. It seemed like she was trying to make up for calling the kid awful, but Mettaton clicked his tongue.

"Don't lie to Frisk, Undyne sweetie. Don't lie to yourself either," this caused her to growl, "she does need some fixing up right now!"

Mettaton went and grabbed a strand of hair, pulling it out from Frisk's head. Apparently it was pretty knotty, as Undyne actually subsided. Frisk took that as dismissal. She hopped down from her chair and rushed to the stairs, making sure to walk up them at a normal pace.

Apparently stairs and panic attacks don't work well. Frisk momentarily wondered how she would have explained collapsing before the stairs, or making it down them and falling afterwards. Even though she still ached a bit, it was probably a streak of luck that she did fall down the stairs.

After she left conversation had picked up, and she closed to the door to her room, staring at the atrocious mess.

Her blankets were strewn across the floor between her bed and the door. It was another miracle she had managed to not faceplant on the door knob. Originally her room room was pretty messy. There wasn't much point to cleaning it when it would just get messy again. She tried to keep things organized, but the floor was open game to whatever useless junk was swept off any surface.

Her desk was perfect, though there was dusty bits. It was a dark wood, polished to a shine that was almost as effective as the elegantly shaped mirror perched on the vertical surface. She always like that desk. It was very nice and comforting to look at. It was earthy in a way that reminded her of the Underground.

Chara was sitting in the chair, staring at the mirror. Not her reflection, but just the mirror. Frisk was the only thing that could see her. Not even dead things were able to reflect her appearance. The girl had no idea what she looked like, but somehow managed to stay sane. Frisk had no idea what she would do without mirrors, honestly.

"So, what's been happening over here?" Chara asked, turning around as gracefully as a dancer. She was floating, and her legs now went through back the chair. Frisk almost giggled until Chara let out a very surprised gasp. "You look awful! Now I'm really curious! Sit down and brush your hair, young lady, as you explain to me why you left your room looking like crap!" She was doing a great job of lightening the mood.

Now Frisk actually giggled.. It was more annoyed than anything, but she obliged and sat down. Sure enough, her eyes were still slightly red, and rather wide because of her reaction to the whole appearance. Her hair was in knots that had been roughly patted down by Mettaton.

 _Well, I fell down the stairs._

"Yes you told me that. Why, Frisk."

 _I may or may not have had a panic attack after you left._

"And I may or may not murder you if you don't give me more details," Chara was frowning at Frisk now, a real glimmer of determination showing in her eyes.


	5. A Theory Is Where It Begins

**Heya guys! This is probably my favorite chapter for reasons. I ain't giving out no spoilers. ;)**

 **Thank you for supporting me! I am enjoying this story so much I don't want to stop writing! I suppose this is definitely turning out a bit different then I intended, and it seems to be getting longer in my head each time I think of it. There might be lots of chapters when I'm done with this in the distant future!**

 **Also thank you for those who keep leaving reviews and letting me know how the story it going! It's really helping!**

 **Enjoy, Lovviieeess!**

* * *

Frisk paused and chuckled awkwardly.

 _I...sorry. It happened after you left...I kinda freaked out...and In order to stop it I told myself I needed to know they were there, so I ran out of my room. It was hard to see, and long story short the stairs weren't very effective._

Frisk was wringing her hands nervously, and repeatedly glancing at Chara. She wasn't sure what her friend's reaction would be to that, but there was definite worry in her thoughts.

"Are you okay now?" Chara asked. She smiled warmly at Frisk, though she was definitely concerned. She still wore her green sweater, not really having to take it off as a ghost, and even though she didn't need protection it made her feel safe. But now, despite that protection, she felt extremely helpless considering Frisk. Her rosy cheeks even paled a little.

Frisk took a moment to answer. She shuffled her feet and looked down at them, before finally gaining the courage to look her friend in similarly colored eyes. Both brown, with a hint of red.

Their eyes had been stained with LV at one point.

 _I guess I'm okay...but the aftereffects of it are freaking me out. I have never recovered this quickly from a panic attack but I still feel confined. Like I'm in a jail, and the moment something goes wrong I'll snap again. I'm honestly surprised I haven't relapsed with the way everybody has been acting around me…_

Now Chara stepped forward, floating off the chair, and did her best to hug Frisk. Neither of them could feel the contact but the very idea was comforting. "You're really strong, you know?" Chara sighed, closing her eyes. She wanted to embrace her friend and just hold her, but they still couldn't touch. It was frustrating, but she tried to shove that aside.

 _Yup. I know._ Frisk chuckled and stepped away from the embrace. It left her slightly chilled and she shivered, but the feeling was welcome. Then, smiling softly at Chara, she stepped away to wrap up the messy blankets that had been sprawled across her floor in her arms. They were still slightly warm and she let out a content sigh, hugging them.

Chara smiled, this time with no hidden emotions, and watched Frisk make her bed. It took a while because Frisk kept pausing to fix even the smallest wrinkle, keeping herself as busy as possible.

She was distracting herself from the heavy reality that burdened her every day. Sleep should have been an escape for her, but instead it was usually plagued with nightmares. Chara wondered how she hadn't gone insane.

Eventually, she decided she should speak up. Frisk looked better, after brushing her chocolatey hair to a shine and washing her face, and probably would be fine with discussing the nightmares. The room was clean now, as Frisk had cleaned it out of boredom. A couple hours had passed since their last exchange.

Chara coughed, gaining her attention. Frisk snapped up from her desk, scared by the sudden noise. When her eyes rested on Chara, floating innocently above her bed, she smiled. It didn't last long, however."Sooo, Frisk, we need to figure out why they had nightmares….I don't think it's just a coincidence. You not having a nightmare might have been, because you don't always have one….but everybody else having one...and waking up at the same time?...I think there are greater forces at work here." Chara chuckled awkwardly, hugging herself.

Frisk paused for a second, her fingers interwoven between her hair and Chara was afraid she would freak out, but the child let out a short breath. She took another couple of breaths before speaking. _What greater forces….?_

"I honestly don't know." Chara shrugged, floating over to Frisk's bed and attempting to sit down on it. When she was a ghost it was always annoying because she couldn't feel anything. When her and Frisk conjoined, however, she could smell and taste and feel, so that was rather nice.

Right now Frisk was letting some senses glide over, like the overpowering apple smell of her hairspray that caused the room to smell like pie and the chill breeze from the window.

 _Do you have any ideas?_

"I've been thinking about it a lot...and I've come up with a couple theories. I pursued the idea of Sans coming up with some sort of device to do that, but I don't think he has that much determination. The problem with that skeleton is he gave up long ago. But another theory has to do with...the core…."

 _The core? How would that affect memories? Or nightmares…_ Frisk was turned around in her chair, her legs around the back of it and her arms resting on the back of it.

"Well at first I've been trying to recall who created the core, and how much they know about it. I can't seem to remember anything so I'm assuming that it was made long before I arrived, but Alphys might know some stuff."

 _Well I don't think we can really talk to her… I mean, maybe, but she might get suspicious. Let's see what we can find on our own._

"Well the core is very powerful… and with the way it works I suppose maybe it had been holding the memories somehow, and now as we are starting to make new ones, it's releasing those. It uses magic to supply energy to the underground...but what magic? Wait...I might have something here…"

Frisk was visibly excited, and she jumped out of her chair, almost tripping. _Wait, what if that's how the resets worked? With my determination I was able to reset...and part of that is erasing everyone's memories, though sans still kept his, so I had to have somewhere to throw them, right? Like a trashcan! What if that was the core!_

"We are totally getting somewhere!" Chara exclaimed, making an attempt to highfive Frisk. They failed, one being a ghost and all, so both of them laughed. "Alright...we have got our theories...you need to get something to write this down on!"

Frisk thought the idea was brilliant, she was very pumped up by the fact that they might be on the verge of discovering a lot. She hadn't been this happy in a while, and it filled her with determination!

 _Wait, what if the core is powered by determination?_

"That's an interesting theory….I'm not sure how it would work, because monsters can only have so much, and the humans between us probably had some, but it still didn't wake me up. You had the most…"

 _Remember Alphys made determination…? Maybe she knew how to power the core. And monsters have some too, as well as humans in the past...but maybe when I came it overloaded!_ Frisk clapped her hands together. _And maybe that's where my power to reset came from!_

"I'm not sure…" Chara ran her fingers through her bangs and sighed, looking over at Frisk. "Hey! maybe if we go to the core we could find some answers." She grinned.

 _Okay but how would I get there? It might take a while._ Frisk sat back down on her chair, this time facing the right direction, and tapped her fingers on the desk.

"You could lie about spending the night at Monsterkid's house, and then tell him that you forgot something in the underground?"

 _I suppose that will work...I...really don't want to lie more than I have to, but if it's how we get answers...I guess._ Just like that, she remembered her life was a lie. She felt the returning depression, hiding it from Chara, and wanted to throw herself out a window. Or hit her head repeatedly on a wall. Something.

Chara smiled and drifted down to the fluffy carpet, patting it absent mindedly, though sometimes her airy hand floated through it when she slipped up. Both of the girls were deep in thought.

Frisk had opened her window sometime back, and a cool breeze drifted through, bringing the decaying smell of fall. There was some pleasantness to it, sure, but fall was mostly dying plants. There was also a hint of apple hairspray. A leaf fluttered through the window, and both of their red-brown eyes followed it's path to the ground, where it landed and seemed to sigh, finally finishing it's journey to death.

Was death so kind that a leaf would embrace it? To run from the loud, obnoxious life of thousands of people talking at once, the leaves as they rustled on windy storms.

Frisk pursed her lips, and leaned back in her chair. The surface of it was chilled, so much that she could feel it through her thin tank top. It caused her to shudder, and goose bumps ran along her arms.

The silence was nice though.

She was trying to focus on thoughts of the core, and add to her and Chara's plan, but she couldn't stop from drifting back to the nightmares. They were obviously about her, and considering her friend's reactions they weren't good. At all.

It brought back memories. The first time she killed each monster was the clearest of them all. It wasn't until the full genocide that she managed to kill Papyrus, and then he had fallen to his knees and begged.

Before then she could never bring herself to stab him. There were a couple times when she turned and stabbed herself in regret, and reset again. Other times she went on with him living, stopping killing others for the most part afterwards but still continuing to get hurt by them.

Full genocide, when she killed all of the monsters, even that dummy, who was the only thing that never hurt her. Papyrus never killed her, sure, but he came awfully close each time. So much that she almost begged for death instead of being so close to losing hope in him again. Instead of him scaring her out of her wits each time that he would make a mistake and have blood on his hands.

But by that time Chara was so damaged by the LV that she simply took control of Frisk and urged her to make that move, while she cried her heart out. After that it was all numb. Chara simply had her, and Frisk no longer willed to have control. The drug controlled Chara's mind, and made her more powerful, so Frisk just walked and Chara killed.

LV was like a drug, in all reality. Even now, after they hadn't had a taste of it for a while, Chara still yearned for it. Frisk had never been affected by it, but she still was addicted. She never had in morph her mind to a psychopath, like Chara's had when she took it from Frisk.

She had never killed Alphys, but could only imagine the dinosaur's despair when Undyne had fallen. Had died. Had been killed.

But the other monsters had killed her too! She was weak, and it was only because they used the same attacks each time, even Sans did, that she could beat them. It always took several tries, but she managed to kill them.

They killed her more! There was always that nagging guilt in the back of her mind that they should be sorry. That it wasn't all her fault. Of course this was never true.

Never in the sense that each time she killed them, it was to protect herself. The first few runs she had been confused and fighting for her life: she didn't know better. After that, however, it was all for blood. As the LV started building and Chara started falling, Frisk held her friend's hand the whole way, and Chara helped when Frisk wasn't strong enough to go through with a blade.

But when Toriel attacked her, and killed her, it was to protect her. If that made any sense. Her mom would never mean to kill her child, and if ever found it out it would break her beautiful soul. But she did kill her, and the only person who ever truly showed love burned her, so Frisk returned the favor in tears. With fear building in her heart that first time.

Nobody loved her.

Nobody loved a mistake.

Even in this whole new world, where she could start again, they wouldn't accept someone who was a failure. At the beginning she had been hurt her whole, short, miserable life, and only knew how to return the favor to others. And when love was shown, she tried to return it, but they hurt her too. Whether or not intentional, each monster hit the child, and most killed. They became enemies to her. They became just like the humans, but then she could finally do something to stop it!

But finally, she showed love, and it came back in the butt of a truck and rained down on her grey soul, which wanted to melt from the burden it carried. The love filled her with determination, but sometimes it wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough because that love should never belong to her. She had never asked for forgiveness but from Sans, and he refused. She had never received forgiveness from the others, but they didn't know. That burden laid heavy upon her each day. She had love that was undeserved. That should have been fake. It was made up of lies so intricately formed that no one knew the better.

Back when the monsters did see what Frisk was capable of, murdering everything in the underground, they showed no mercy because she showed none. And if they found out that she hadn't just murdered everyone else, but done it multiple times...with a grin?

Sure, the first half was tears, but after that point when she finally killed Papyrus, there was Chara in control, and Frisk going with it.

Her life was impossible. She had died thousands, maybe even of millions of times in that world. In the endless ring of lifetimes she had to live and die in. And perhaps the funniest thing about it all, if there really was any, was the fact that she was living with her murderers! The monsters who slit her throat, mashed her body, smashed her soul, and caused her frail body so much more then it could handle, now loved her. With all their hearts.

It was like a demented universe where forgiveness came as easy as drinking water. And she, their butcherer, loved them back. So much, that every time she looked at them, her little heart broke a bit more. For the times they had murdered her, and the utter forgiveness she felt inclined to offer, and the times she murdered them, for which there was an overwhelming sense of guilt. But now, it seemed, they were remembering.

What would they say? Would they dream again? Would they fully remember all of their deaths and hers or was that a one time thing?

But...if the core really was holding memories, and spurting them out, the only way to keep them from knowing would to be to start it over. To kill them, so they would stop making memories, so they would never learn the true ones.

The truth behind their dear human, who was a cute little bundle of lies.

They murdered her. She murdered them.

They were not even.

They killed her more, but it was for good reason. She killed them less: to move on, for blood.

Her life was an endless hell.

And the two others who knew couldn't do anything, or hated her. Frisk hated herself for having determination. For bringing Chara back to life. For feeding Chara the love and completely messing with her mind. Drugging her, eventually knowing the effects it had. For her past before the undergound. That she only knew how to hurt then. That the only way to protect herself was to kill. And kill. And kill. It took way too long to learn to love. She had to show it, but in order to do that she had to overcome her own demons.

There was a sinking feeling in her soul.

And in that moment, when Frisk looked up from her shaking hands that were speckled with tears and looked over at Chara, who was still deep in thought, her heart broke.

She could not stop sobbing for any of the wretched lives she had lived.

Chara had felt the sinking depression from Frisk, but in that moment, when Frisk looked up at her, she felt everything. The walls broke. It was too much, and she couldn't stop laughing, tears running down her face.

 **It's not funny.**

But she still laughed.


	6. A Beautiful Day

**Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter y'all. Business and writers block are terrible combinations!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It took a few times to write, and I'm still not 100% happy with it, but that could take years and I won't make anybody wait that long! I've already got my ideas for the next chapter, so hopefully it will come along a bit faster and more efficiently.**

 **Thanks to those who are leaving reviews to help me with some mistakes, and to all of those who are reading this!**

 **Loviieeesss!~**

* * *

He sighed. The action was something that nobody ever really noticed, and yet a great way to express yourself. To relieve emotions. Even on the rare occasion that someone did notice, there was no way they could narrow down what it meant when there were thousands of possibilities for the simple thing.

That was why he sighed a lot, to be honest. Nobody noticed anyways, but this time even he didn't know what it meant. Boredom maybe, but listening to the monsters argue over how to celebrate was rather humorous. Most likely to relieve unknown emotions. Or maybe out of irritation over how much they were violently discussing this matter.

Arguing over a celebration? For what? Because Frisk was feeling better? For lies. They were debating how to celebrate the fact that Frisk wasn't injured from her great fall. Nobody else seemed to mind, but even though it was funny Sans still found himself annoyed.

He knew it was all lies, of course. He had seen the door handle shake wildly as the person on the other side tried to pry it open. He had seen her dash out of the room and blindly throw herself down the stairs. It was wise that he stepped back, or else Frisk would have barreled right into him. There was an odd sense of amusement there that caused him to chuckle.

Papyrus, who had ceased talking for a moment, heard the strange noise. The tall skeleton turned to his brother, arching a bone. Or a brow, if he could have. He made an expression that looked like he would have been raising an eyebrow. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY, BROTHER?"

Now Sans was even more amused, and his permanent grin widened. Papyrus's inquisitive gaze quickly morphed into a glare. He was about to speak before Sans let it fly. "i was thinking of a pun...but it's not very _humorous_."

Papyrus knew it was coming. There was a moment of silence and then he groaned, his ultimate hate for the puns growing yet again. There had been a time when he appreciated them in secret, but eventually he figured out that it was Sans' way of still being relatively okay. It was the only thing Sans confessed when Papyrus found him that night after a nightmare. Papyrus recalled his own nightmare the evening before and momentarily wondered if he would be reduced to puns.

Undyne had already groaned and screamed enough that day, even though the chill air was just barely warming to the sun, so she just sent a glare strong enough to fry a fish. She was sitting on the opposing couch with Alphys, who leaned her head on Undyne's arm, which tensed at the pun.

"gee Undyne...stop burning holes in my skull." He pointed to his eyes and then winked, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. That wasn't very funny anyways.

Toriel was chuckling despite the annoyed others, and the immensely stupid joke, but eventually she too noticed the direction of Undyne's gaze, which went right over San's head and to the staircase behind.

Everybody shared the same thought in that moment, though Asgore was quicker to say it out loud. "She is taking a while...I will go make sure she is coming." He stood, prepared to move, when the most unexpected interruption had him staring directly at the cause.

Sans jumped up and surprised everyone, including himself. "i'll go check on her." He offered to actually do something, and to say people were startled might be a minor understatement. It looked like Papy's jaw might fall right off.

As much as Sans did hate the idea of expending what little energy he had, and absolutely loathed spending it on Frisk, there was reason.

Toriel grabbed Asgore's hand and dragged him back down next to her. They gripped paws tightly. There was no was she was going to pass up this opportunity. She smiled at her husband, who didn't want the opportunity to slide either, then turned to look at the skeleton.

No way Sans was backing down anyway so he turned to head up the stairs. Everybody decided to resume chatting about celebration. No sense in having an awkward silence.

They were enjoying their day so far. The world was just waking up, as it was still slightly early, and once they decided on something to do for Frisk they would each go about their days, not sparing much more thought on the matter.

Sans wasn't having as much fun.

Each step seemed closer to death for he hated walking, even moving at all. It took a toll, and when Frisk was in proximity it took all of his effort to stop his bones from shaking out of their sockets. The kid seriously rattled him. And honestly, it wasn't like he hadn't given them a chance to be good. For a while there had always been hope for the kid. He could see the lost soul behind the knife, which was simply held to protect. They had never killed his brother at one point, and that had made Frisk worthy of a chance. Eventually time runs out however, and in that case it did. That first time, seeing Papyrus turn into dust after thinking that maybe the child, who had been more powerful than ever would stop, was hell.

After that the killing didn't stop. Not like he hoped.

He went through timeline after timeline, watching his brother die each time with no way to stop it. His life became meaningless, and the only difference was the child's fear, which seemed to grow each time he fought them.

It was crazy. They never once defeated him, always resetting and giving up, until finally the fear became tears that poured down her face and rolled over her faltering, wicked grin. Something happened after that, after he died, and the next time he saw Frisk she looked like a child, and there was not even a hint of dust in her hair.

But here he was with the inability to trust her. Not when each time he looked those eyes seemed redder, and that smile burned itself into his eyes.

He nearer the top of the stairs and paused for a moment in surprise.

He had heard Frisk sobbing through the wall before, but he had never actually seen her cry other than that one time in the last genocide, and he wasn't sure whether to call that crying or not.

No matter how many times they had nightmares and heard each other's silent screams, neither had heard the other simply die on the outside like they were on the inside.

And Sans heard that heartbreaking noise as he approached her door. His idea would have to wait for later.

It wasn't like each time he watched the bones pierce through her soul and when she drowned in her own blood, but it was painful to listen to. Sure the piercing screams of a murdered child were painful, but this was just pitiful.

Her sobs were just so...broken. Like there were a thousand breaking hearts poured into each sob. She couldn't even breathe it sounded like, and hiccuping was the only way she managed to get air. There was a morphed version of laughter mixed in coming from her too, that followed each hiccup with an indescribable crack.

His heart broke a little, but last time he tried to forgive her it did not end well.

Sans knocked on the door, and silence followed.

Her soft gasping was barely muffled, and he imagined both hands covering her face with the tears freely flowing. It morphed into that picture that haunted him, with the wicked smile behind splayed out, dusty fingers.

Frisk was panicking on the other side, with Chara trying to frantically calm her. It wasn't working and eventually she started panicking to.

Sans' smile faded and he tapped his forehead against the door, chuckling. He always smiled, but Frisk was never worthy of that permanent grin. His spine began to tingle.

"its a beautiful day outside…" There was a pause in his speech, and he heard Frisk shuffling around. "birds are singing...flowers are blooming...and on days like these, kids like you, **should be burning in hell.** "

The words brought back a familiar fire. Something welcome. A burning revenge that had fueled him not so long ago. He laughed, and it was even darker than the quote for he heard Frisk begin to hyperventilate.

They were like that for a while. He had felt Frisk lean against the door and heard a small click as she locked it. She was shivering intensely, he could feel it through the door, and it gave him psychotic pleasure.

Eventually he got bored."welp, people are downstairs you know. i'll tell them you want to go for ice cream tomorrow, and you fell asleep." He paused, turning away from the door. "and don't run down the stairs this time during an attack. we don't want another scene. and whatever you're doing to make the others uncomfortable...stop."

The mental image of Frisk leaning on her door, shaking uncontrollably, sent wicked shivers down his spine.

He grinned, wider than he had in a while, and headed down the stairs. Undyne was watching him closely as soon as he appeared around the corner. Frisk wasn't with him.

He shrugged, reaching the bottom.

"kiddo was sleeping. I managed to ask though and she said she wanted to go for ice cream tomorrow." He sighed. "she is an awfully cute sleeper."

Toriel chuckled. If she wasn't cuddled against her husband, and obviously in love with him, most people would assume she had a 'schoolgirl' crush on Sans. She thought almost everything he did was funny, other than his and Frisk's constant bickering, but their friendship was just that. A friendship. It wasn't a very deep one, but in the past, when Sans would knock on the door and they would tell each other jokes for ages, something was formed then.

It was still there now, but more of a silent relationship.

Just a friendship.

Sans was friends with everybody else too, of course. He really didn't like Mettaton, but they both loved Papyrus, in different ways of course, but as long as the robot would watch his skeleton brother with his life it would be perfect. Sans wasn't really in a position to judge him however, for he had never been able to protect Papyrus.

If he had lips he might have bit them clean off. It was a good thing he didn't, then, but he ground his teeth together, sitting down next to Papyrus.

"I-I have to head to the lab…" Alphys stood, brushing off her cute dress. It was probably from some anime, knowing her. Undyne stood up as well, grabbing her wife's hand. She looked down at Alphys and kissed her on the nose, which elicited a blush.

"U-U-uhh….I-I...have some e-experiments...t-t-tooo…." She fidgeted, her fingers frantically pulling at her dress. Her face seemed to get redder by the second, and eventually Undyne saved her.

"Yup! See y'all. We got work to do. Let us know when you decide on a time for ice cream! We'll be there!" She reached out and grabbed the dinosaur, hurrying through the living room past everybody. They disappeared around the corner, and shortly after you could hear the door open and slam shut. Undyne undoubtedly took care of that.

Mettaton and Papyrus soon followed. They had some production stuff to work on. Mettaton was meeting with Nabstablook to discuss new music for their next production, and Papryus would need to prepare food for having their ghost friend over for dinner. He was very excited, and after bidding everyone a hasty farewell, practically exploded out the house.

Mettaton thought it was hilarious.

Sans headed up to his room, and Toriel and Asgore did whatever they usually did in the kitchen. It usually included lots of groaning from Asgore who still couldn't stand Toriel's overused food puns. Mettaton and Papyrus went to meet with Blooky, and Undyne and Alphys were at home, curled up and watching anime.

Sans's room seemed very bland at the moment. When he opened the door, there was this off sense that sent him shuddering. He never closed the door behind him, turning around and leaving the eyesore that he called 'organization.' It was a literate definition of his life.

He didn't know why he was leaving it to head to the little devil's room. He didn't know what possessed him to use his blue magic to unlock the door and open it, as well as move the child sitting behind it, who let out a scream. He didn't know why he stopped it by, once again, using his blue magic to seal her mouth shut before the cry could reach her oblivious parents.

Sans didn't know why he had done any of that until he basically dropped Frisk on the floor, sat down in front of her and spoke, making sure to lock the door behind him. "we need to talk."

The terror that morphed onto her face was priceless, and he held up his hand, snapping his fingers as soon as she opened her pretty little mouth.

Frisk screamed, Sans smiled, Chara cursed, and soon the two were gone. Chara was left behind, temporarily blinded by the powerful blast of blue light.

"Damn shortcuts!" She hissed, trying to contact Frisk.

But nobody came.


	7. A Simple Questioning

**Chapter 7 here we go! Frisk is going to have a very long day, whooee. My week's been crazy and I've been sick on top of having a band concert, so sorry if this is a little late.**

 **I'm also planning on a weekly schedule where I'll upload every Wednesday. I might upload 2 chapter on occasion if I feel like it to!**

 **Thanks for being patient with me, and feel free to go read all the updates!**

 **OKAY ITS NOT SATURDAY YET! I uploaded this FRIDAY!**

 **But now my actual schedule begins!**

 **Loviesss~**

* * *

Frisk could not stop screaming if she wanted to. Even when Sans used his magic to snap her jaw shut she couldn't help her muffled cries of protest. He simply walked into her room, flung her around like a toy doll, and plopped down in front of her. He grinned wickedly, his eye flaring up, and snapped his fingers.

She was able to scream then, but the pain brought it to a hoarse whisper. It felt like her body was being stretched and pulled apart in every possible direction. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open, and her eyes wide as she stared into the darkness that suddenly encased her flailing form. There was no gravity in whatever black hole Sans had brought her too, and she lost her sense of direction.

It seemed like a long time, but really only took a few seconds before she was able to feel weight on her limbs again. As the pain slowly began to subside, her blindness faded as well, morphing into a familiar room. It became a reality bit by bit and only scared her more.

Her legs were useless when a solid surface seemed to materialize under her feet. She stood for a second before giving out, collapsing to the floor. There was a familiar buzz and she never hit the ground. Sans reached outwards towards her, a blue glow coming from his palm. As Frisk's haze began to subside, she realized her had lifted her off the ground with his power. She struggled against it, but his magic held her firmly in place, restricting any movement.

Her eyes frantically scanned the room, looking for any means of escape when it fully dawned on her where she was, and what had happened. Sans was standing in front of her, his eye glowing and his hand still suspended in the air, with the judgement hall framed behind him. It was unnervingly dark, and the blue was the only thing providing light other than a faint glow through the shattered windows.

The skeleton took a step forward, a muffled tap echoing from his slipper. Frisk's voice was broken, and she was too scared to make any noise at this point. She struggle more against his hold, but the magic was unrelenting and only seemed to get tighter, encasing her in a solid casket.

It didn't take much for panic to reach up and grip her mind, yanking any sanity away from the child. She freaked out, to say the least. Her mind became a chaotic mess, her thoughts mixed into one spinning tornado of fear. There was no going back, and as her reality and illusion combined into one mess as she finally let out a scream, shutting her eyes.

There was nothing to hear and not much to see. The image of Sans was burned into her mind, and it slowly morphed into a terrifying figure before melting into her chaos as well. She was shaking uncontrollably and unable to control her movements as she tried to escape his prison.

It felt like fire and ice were having a full out battle in her soul, and she could barely manage to stop her cries long enough to speak."Please Sans. Let me go! Kill me please don't keep me here!" Her words came out in a pleading squeak, but she meant every word.

Sans let out a low chuckle, but he didn't find the plea amusing at all. It gave him another wave of pity, but of course he would never admit that. He understood well the want to die rather than go through pain. There was no reason to deny her request, but he chose the left violent option, simply letting her go. His magic just completely disappeared and she fell to the ground. If he listened to her the whole ordeal might go quicker.

But at this rate it might take a while.

Frisk hit the ground with a loud crack, her head hitting the tile. She felt daggers shoot up her side and for a moment thought Sans actually killed her once again, but she was still alive moments later. She stopped screaming but her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide as she stared at the cold tiles.

Sans watched her and they shared the silence before he took another step, towering above her. HIs eye still glowed, and his grin widened.

'hey. you'd rather die than be here right now, huh? don't say those things. they scare the life outta me." He chuckled to himself, though there wasn't much heart behind it.

Frisk didn't move for a long time. She simply lay there and cry, her shoulders shaking.

Sans didn't do anything for a while either. He eventually moved to sit down, too lazy to stand, and continued watching her almost lifeless body curled up on the ground. It reminded him of the endless times he killed her. This time there was no blood thing time. If it wasn't for her little sobs he might have actually thought he killed her.

Frisk finally regained her ability to speak, and she managed to stop crying. She muttered a short, "What," before slowly rolling to a sitting position.

Sans stared at her, leaning forward and tilting his head to the side out of curiosity.

She sniffled, reaching up a hand to try and dry her wet cheeks. She still had to take deep breaths to stop herself from sobbing and her hands visibly shook, though she pulled them into to sleeve of her sweater to try and hide it.

He laughed, throwing back his head.

He definitely didn't find it funny. In reality he wasn't sure what he felt about the pathetic thing. Confusion led him to that laugh, and it revealed how broken he felt at the sight of her quivering body.

The laughing didn't last long and he hung his head, drawing a shaky breath.

Frisk let out a short laugh as well, however. She wasn't sure what to feel about the whole situation either. "Sans, please, why did you bring me here?" She pleaded again, looking down at her shivering hands.

He looked up, a smirk slowly taking over his features as he looked at the broken human. It was nice to see she hurt too, he had to admit. "kiddo, things have been weird, and it feels like i've been "chilled to the bone'. everyone's acting strange, and no need to mention the nightmares."

The room seemed to get darker.

Frisk stared blankly at the skeleton, though she was focused on the cracked pillars behind him. She opened her mouth but couldn't quite speak. Sans watched her curiously but it didn't take him long to get bored and cough.

"Sans…" she muttered, blinking herself back into reality. She met his gaze and tilted her head to the side, leaning forward. "You knew about the nightmares?"

He didn't even need to think about his curt response. "yeah im not an idiot, pal." He winked, letting the words sink in.

She glanced down. "Were you just...guessing?" The child looked up through her hair, a smile spreading out on her face. "I'm...not an idiot either, Sansie." Tilting her head slightly to the side, she took on an unnerving aura.

Sans hesitated before smiling back, meeting her gaze. "you can't rattle my bones, kiddo. yes, i guessed, but you could just say I felt it in my bones. no gut feeling there." He let out a low chuckle, and now it was Frisk's turn to pause again.

She turned to look to the side, staring at a window. The once beautiful colored glass was shattered across the tiled floor and it added unnatural sparkle in the dark room.

The judgement hall was once a gorgeous work of art, but she hated it with all her heart.

Her vision blurred at the memory previous battles. It still sent unwelcome regret through her. She blinked away the unwelcome tears and wiped her eyes. Her body still hurt, and she was still slightly dizzy from her attack, but things were clearing up.

The skeleton in front of her seemed to glow from his magic, which produced little light. He looked very sad in this setting, and the dark circles under his eyes stood out under his lifeless sockets. Frisk smiled sadly, mourning in how pathetic they both were.

"Yes. They...all had nightmares. I freaked out this morning because I…" Faltering, she glanced to the side, which gave Sans the perfect opportunity to interrupt.

"listen, I know. it didn't take much brainpower. i connected the dots pretty easily, pal." He smiled, resting his skull in a bony hand.

"Okay I get it skeleton! You can think, even without a brain! But if you already know all of this, why am I here?" She straightened her back, sending a glare in his direction. He straightened as well, winking.

'because i still need some answers. like why they're getting all spooked."

She shook her head. "I don't know anything okay!" Her voice was a warning growl, hinting at him to stop prying. "My only theory is the core, and that maybe it holds memories. Maybe it got too full, and so it started sending out major ones? I don't know okay! Please, go. I just…" She took a shaky breath to calm her nerves. Her hands were quivering again.

"sorry if im rattling your bones...but...why were you sobbing earlier? Finally regretting this happy route?" It only took the last sentence to make his question seem harsh and cold. There was a hidden meaning behind it, a concern. Not for the child of course, but rather what they wanted to do with whatever pain they felt.

Frisk laughed. "I love how you worded that bones." Genuinely she did. It was twisted perfectly away from any kindness. She fell backwards, spreading her arms out. From that angle Sans couldn't see the tears, but they still fell.

"A friend once taught me how to lay on the ground and feel like garbage. I've perfected it. Now i don't just have to lay on the ground, but I can feel like garbage all the time."

"Kiddo…"

"Naw don't pity me. Or hate me, y'know. I deserve it of course…." Her words faded into a broken silence while briefly considering if she really believe that. It didn't take too long to decide. "But no matter how many times I want to stop living, I can't. No matter how hard I try to forget…" Her laugh slowly turned into a sob.

"Despite everything, it's still me."

Sans looked at the poor kid, sprawled out on the floor. Maybe he could never trust her again, but it wasn't like she was a psychopath. She did regret her pasts.

In that moment she inspired him and he fell backwards as well. His skull hit the tile with a dull crack, but the pain was insignificant. He stretched his arms out to the side, pressing his hands down on the floor.

They both lay on the ground like fallen angels, staring up at the ceiling. It towered above them, reaching a grand arch that stretched on for the whole length of the hall. The pillars towered upwards, each one full of cracks and ready to break.

If it fell on them, neither would care. They would embrace the death until Frisk restarted again, and then their war would continue.

Sans laughed to himself at the irony of it all. "i hate you…" he muttered, holding back another laugh. He put as much emotion as he could behind the words and she returned them with just as much feeling and even less hesitation, though he barely had any.

"I hate you too. But really, tell me the truth. Why did you want to talk?" She finally sat up, wiping tears from her eyes that Sans was surprised to see. He propped himself up on two elbones, meeting her gaze straight on.

"you really are an idiot!" He grinned, turning his head towards the ceiling once again, scanning it with his eye sockets. His eye flared up and he pushed himself up to a sitting position, mirroring Frisk. He was angry at her now.

At her lack of trust for him. Not like he deserved it, but if nobody made an effort nothing would happen. He had been making an effort and she pushed it aside.

"It's about time you learned the truth…" His voice deepened and Frisk tensed, knowing exactly what was coming.

"the truth is, you got dunked on." Now he let out another laugh, though this time it was pure evil. Frisk simply smiled in response, nodding as he began to dissipate.

"Thanks!" The girl laughed, waving goodbye.

As he shortcutted, his anger and frustration was replaced with confusion at her jovial answer. She didn't seem to care that he just left her in the place that was once their prison.

Moments later, that question heavy on his mind, his room materialized around him. He let out a relieved sigh, planning to collapse on his bed when a shrill cry sent daggers up his spine. He turned towards the door of his room, which was wide open, and Toriel stood with her hands on her hips.

She glared.

Sans recoiled from the pissed of goat-mom, putting up his hands in surrender. "what did i do this time round, Tori?" He shrugged innocently, but she obviously wasn't having that behavior.

"Where on earth have you been?! And WHERE is Frisk!" She demanded, marching into his room despite the mess. Her gaze didn't leave him anyways, watching for even the tiniest bit of hesitation.

Luckily he didn't show any, but simply smiled wider. "kid went to Monster Kid's. I gave her a lift and went to grillbz'" He shrugged again and then stuck his hands in his pockets.

She didn't stop glaring, but relented a little bit. "Sans you should know better then to let her run off like that without permission." Her hands still on her hips, she shook her head with a sigh. "Don't let her do it again, alright? Let me know! I'm going to go call them to make sure everything is alright." She watched him for a moment before shaking her head once again and turning on her heels.

"heya Tori mind shutting the door?" Sans called out to her, his smile gone. She didn't say anything, but gently shut the door behind her. As soon as her footsteps began padding down the hall, Sans was gone in a blaze of light.

Monster Kid definitely did not appreciate Sans breaking into his room and threatening him, but what could he do? He agreed to the skeleton's one-sided deal, and as soon as the monster was gone the phone rang. The worried mother was assured Frisk was safe and sound, and in other words, he ended up lying for his best friend.

Toriel was satisfied with this answer, and Sans was relieved to know he was off the hook. Monster Kid felt guilty for telling the caring monster such a lie, but he was pleased to help his friend, and Frisk was content to be underground, though for the time seemingly alone.

It's not like she wanted to be abandoned in the place of her nightmares, but a free ride to the underground was perfect. The core wasn't that far now.

 _Hey...Chara? You there?_ Frisk, still sitting on the floor of the judgement hall, tried to contact her friend. She flinched when they responded.

 **Oh. My. You know what? I don't care. Where the HELL have you been? What did Sans do to y- wat the fuuudgge why are you laughing?! Frisk FRISK!?** Chara began panicking even more. She had been completely unable to look for her friend, and their tie had been severed.

But Frisk laughed to herself, following it up with a sigh. _I'll tell you about it when you get here. We've got a lot of work to do!_

 **Okay but where IS here, idiot?**

 _Oh just the judgement hall, you know. It's pretty dark right now without San's blue magic._ Frisk made an attempt to stand, but she could barely see and decided to wait for Chara, who was undoubtedly on her way.

 **What the hell did that skeleton do to you!**

 _I told you, Chara, that we would talk about it once you got here. But don't worry, I'm not hurt._


	8. Innocent Dust

**Hey y'all! I've been enjoying some recent snow where i live. There isn't much, but it's awfully pretty to look at. In celebration I wore my snowman sweater!**

 **Thanks for supporting me! I really appreciate getting reviews from you guys! Great advice which I am always filled with determination by.**

 **Thanks to my best friend for helping with the previous chapter, and maybe future one, because she is apparently a good beta reader. Also thanks to readers who are offering advice!**

 **Lovies~**

* * *

Chara and Frisk moved silently through the core. They were both ignoring each other and the only sound was Frisk's small footsteps on the floor of the twisting halls.

Chara wasn't saying anything, just floating beside her, and it was worrying. The whole story had been relayed as well as it could be explained. There was no sense in leaving anything out, considering the fact it might help them gain answers.

Throughout the explanations Chara barely showed emotion. Frisk could sense worry, and sometimes a flash of anger or confusion, but she remained speechless. It was odd, considering they could mentally communicate, but she didn't hold anything against her.

When Chara finally spoke, they had almost reached the room from Frisk and Mettaton's last fight. Her voice was silent, but the words became another puzzle."That's funny." Chara muttered, even letting out a little chuckle.

If Frisk had anything in her mouth right then she would have spit it out. She stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at Chara, her hands held out towards her friend. _What?!_

The girl shrugged. "I said what I meant. It's kinda funny." She paused, and then sighed, realizing her mistake. "Not the funny type of funny, but the odd type of funny. Like weird."

Frisk stared blankly at Chara, who was still drifting down the hall. She tarried there for a moment before rushing to catch up. _Okay then. Um...why's it...funny?_ She pursed her lips in confusion, glancing sideways. She understood what Chara meant, if only a little bit, but the wording was interesting.

Chara looked forward to the irons doors that had locked Frisk in a room with that killer robot. She started floating quicker, causing Frisk to follow behind with hurried steps. "I think it's odd that he, in some random outburst, decided to question you about things he already knew."

 _He didn't know them,_ Frisk protested. _He had theories, and he wanted me to answer them._

"Yes but he could have asked like a normal person. I'm pretty sure the only question he asked and didn't know the answer to was 'why they're all gettin spooked' as he apparently put it. But we don't know the answer to that either, so whatever!" She threw her hands in the air, getting frustrated.

Frisk tried to ease that a little. I _think he was worried about...me? I guess I could call it that. He asked why I was sobbing earlier, but worded it in a way that made it sound harsh._

"Okay, the comedian has never cared for you before so why now?" Chara turned on her friend, raising an eyebrow.

 _I don't think it was specifically me he was worried about, Chara. I think..._ Looking down at her toes, Frisk struggled for the right words. _I think he's more worried about what I'm capable of...and that he really doesn't want me to reset._

There was a moment of revelation.

"That makes a lot of sense..actually." The wheels were turning in both girl's heads at the prospect of it, and Chara tried to ignore her stress. "I...I'm worried too, honestly. Not of the fact that you can reset, but what resetting would entail. You would kill yourself and start over...and that would be such a burden that even I might not be able to help!" She was very concerned, to say the least. If Frisk died, accidental or not, she would have the option to reset. And if she did, then it might be too much for everybody to handle.

Frisk smiled sadly, resting her hand on the cool iron door. She shoved it open while Chara drifted through the other one, and then slipped through. The room brought back memories. There were still scorch marks from Mettaton's various bombs and scratches on the floor from his heels.

 _You're right. I don't ever want to reset again though because...I…._ She looked up and took a deep breath.. _Everybody else is happy, even if Sans and I aren't. Eventually Sans might move on...but I can't. I don't deserve any of this and I have to splurge off the happiness of others to smile._ Her hands were shaking, and she paused to gather her thoughts.

 _But if everybody finds out, they'll know...it's deceitful...and it's wrong...but I couldn't live with myself if they found out. I just can't tell..._

Chara chuckled dryly, and if she had a soul it might have broke in two. There was a way for Frisk to die but she would never let that happen, or let her friend know of it. "Then don't tell, Frisk."

 _But that won't work if they get their memories back, Chara._

"Crap." The ghost paled, if that was possible, and she turned to Frisk with wide, frightened eyes. "We really need to do some digging around the core if we are going to find anything! Where should we start though? It's huge!"

The reality of the situation was jarring. Sans left Frisk, so it saved her a long walk to the Underground. They might be there for a while, until he came to find them, if at all. She would have to thank him then with a sarcastic wink.

He'd probably return the favor with 'you're welcome, pal.'

Frisk pushed open the door that left the battle room and snuck through again. _I think we should start in Alphys' lab._ She was trying not to her best to hold back tears. There were so many terrible memories in this place, and it was near impossible to just remember the good ones.

Chara did her best to provide distraction "Why the lab? And which part of the lab? We're looking at the core, right?"

 _Yes but someone invented the core, right? You mentioned you didn't know, so maybe we can find something at the lab. That's where any science stuff would be, and maybe we could find some papers and blueprints on it.'_

"You are totally right!" She laughed, giving Frisk a thumbs up. Her enthusiasm filled Frisk with a little more determination. "I guess we head there first and kinda look around along the way?"

 _We can do that, but let's hurry. I don't want to waste time. On our way back we will know what to look for anyways. And...I don't want to run into any amalgamates._

"Those things are…."

 _Yeah, they are still here. We arranged for them and their families to stay down here. It worked better for the amalgamates to stay, and it gave Asgore an excuse to not allow other humans down here._

"Oh...I guess that makes sense. I'm glad Alphys recovered mostly from that. She used to come down here a lot when Undyne was away." Chara shot forward a little bit, floating in front of Frisk.

 _She what?! Why didn't I know about this!_ Frisk watched Chara, her eyes wide.

"I don't tell you everything, Frisk. Some things should be kept secret. Some things are not mine to explain." She smiled and continued rushing, gracefully flying forward.

Frisk sighed and moved to a slow jog, trying to keep up. Her legs were getting tired and she was already exhausted from the events of the days. _Alright. I trust your judgement._

They both smiled, and once again silence filled the halls. Eventually Frisk's smile faded as she tried to keep up with Chara, and her breathing became heavy. Her footsteps dragged on the ground and echoed until they reached the exit of the core, which Frisk hurriedly shoved open, not wanting to stop running for fear she wouldn't be able to start again.

She did stop however, her legs ceasing to work as she gawked. She had expected it to be dusty, but the sight still startled her, and it was much worse than she could predict.

It was dark, like the judgement hall, but there was still light shining through the foggy windows. The fountain, which used to pour a lovely sprinkling sound into the room, was dead, and left things eerily lifeless. There was no one around, which explained the dust that covered every surface in the grand room.

"I think this is even more abandoned than the genocide routes, Frisk." Chara was in awe of the ancient place as well.

Frisk shifted uncomfortably and shuddered from a combination of exhaustion and nervousness.

 _It's so...dead. Let's hurry on, the lab isn't far._ Starting up jogging again, Frisk pushed her legs and Chara followed behind. They were both eager to leave the abandoned plaza and get on with their work. They tried to ignore the fact that walking back through it would happen eventually.

Frisk's legs were really beginning to sting, and her breathing quickened. She slowed once they exited the place, but made sure to keep going. Chara was noticing the struggle, but didn't say anything. They were both feeling determined enough to ignore any other odd things on the way.

When they finally arrived Frisk was sweating. It was hotland, and she bent over, resting her hands on her shaking knees to catch her wavering breath. She stood like that for a minute, and Chara watched with a little bit of pride.

There were definitely plenty of perks to being a ghost. Frisk, despite her stupor, grasped a bit of her friend ego and smirked. She opened a window that shared her exhaustion.. Chara groaned and glared, trying to catch her breath as well. "J-Jerk….stop it…"

Frisk relented, laughing weakly. She stood, wiping the sweat off her palms, and turned to the entrance of the lab, not even thinking twice before entering. She hoped for a nicer temperature..

There was no air conditioning in the dark place, but it was definitely cooler. It took a few minutes but eventually they found the power switch and flipped it on, which triggered a refreshing wave of cool air. The lights flickered on, and Alphys' old machines sputtered alive, making a bit of sound in the process.

It was much more alive than any places they had observed, despite being abandoned as well. There wasn't as much dust, and some of the monsters that remained in the Underground probably visited the lab on occasion.

"Alright." Chara clasped her hands together, grinning down at Frisk, who was finally breathing normally. "Where do you want me to look?"

Frisk smiled back and then turned and scanned the lab, her hands on her hips. She looked very important. _I think you should take a look around downstairs and I'll check around up here. I'll come open drawers and things later._

Chara nodded and soon disappeared through the floor in an unnerving manner. Frisk wasn't watching, but it felt like the life of the room was sucked out with Chara. It left her feeling lonely, so she reached out. . _And the search begins!_

 **Indeed! And this place is a lot creepier than before.** Chara was referring to the secret lab. It was a lot worse than before, but at least the amalgamates weren't around.

Frisk smiled and shook her head before continuing to look around. She started with the refrigerator, flinging it open for effect. It had nothing in it but a few bags of noodles that Alphys couldn't pack. They were very old, but Frisk decided to take one in case she needed it. That would be unlikely, but she was already hurting a lot anyways.

She wasn't sure she could survive the walk home. Half of her hoped somebody would notice she was missing and force Sans to come find her, but the other part didn't want to deal with him or making up excuses. Toriel had probably already figured out she was gone and Sans came up with something.

If that was the case she would probably have to walk back. Everything hurt. Between falling down the stairs, shortcutting, being dropped, and jogging, she had been through a lot. Even a good night's sleep before hand didn't help.

Exhaustion was a good thing however. It made it easier to fall asleep and she was less likely to have nightmares. Though, as the day had gone, it seemed her worst fears were morphing into reality.

As Frisk went up the lagging escalator, she realized how much had actually happened in one day. It was probably getting late because she and Sans had spent a lot of time in the judgement hall.

Her and Chara wouldn't make it back by midnight, and Frisk prayed that the comedian had a good excuse.

The mid-floor was relatively empty. Alphys had packed up her computer and anime collection, which was mostly all that occupied the desk in the past. That and empty noodle cartons. The dinosaur wasn't a pro at living healthily, but with several home cooked meals from friends she was doing better.

Everybody was doing better but Frisk, who hated herself more by the hour.

Taking a deep breath, the girl shook her head and moved to the escalator. It was choppy, pausing randomly in it's cycle. The thing was shaking as well, but Frisk ignored that and stepped onto it. She began moving upwards.

It was a relief on her legs, and she was tempted to sit down, but determination was spurring her onward. As she reached the top the escalator sputtered, pausing when she stepped off. Frisk glanced at it out of curiosity when a thought struck her.

 _The core provides 'magical energy' to the underground, right?"_ She asked Chara.

Chara took a second to confirm the fact.

 _So how does the core get powered? Maybe we can find some blueprints on that?_

 **The core provides it's own energy. It's like a cool little cycle. I'm not sure how it works, but there are definitely some blue prints and stuff down here. I can't look at them yet though.**

 _Should I head down?_ Frisk asked. She turned to look at the end of the upper hall, hoping that escalator worked as well.

 **No, I've got things handled. Take your time. We need to look thoroughly.** She hadn't gotten far in the underground lab, honestly. The beds that filled the room were oddly rumpled, and just as dusty as the plaza. It was much more creepy than anything, and the loud sputtering of machines set her off. She was a ghost herself but the place felt possessed.

 _Okay._ Frisk responded, moving to continue searching the upper level. There were bookshelves, and they looked like a good place to start. Alphys had left most of them, so there would be a bit of reading to take care of.

Frisk hurried over and grabbed the large, rusted blue box and dragged it over to the books. She plopped down on it and started with the first one, a thin, orange colored story book of sorts. _We'll be here for a while...I've got lots of reading up here._

 **Okay. I might join you soon because there isn't much I can do on my own. Overall the place looks safe though. No hidden monsters.** Chara joked, which dragged a chuckle from Frisk.

 _Okay,_ she agreed.

The first book was titled "Fairy Tales" but when Frisk opened it most of the pages were cut out. Inside was a stash of CDs, probably anime. If that continued on, there wouldn't be much to learn. She set the book back and read the title of the next book. It was orange as well and pretty thick, but didn't look very important. She slid her finger along the bookshelf, looking for anything of use.

There wasn't much that would help her on that shelf.

She stood from her box and scanned the next shelf, which seemed to be much more interesting. They were science books. Some on subjects Frisk had never even heard of, with impossibly big words in the title. She tried to ignore them.

Her finger stopped at one of the blue ones. It was a hard-cover, and looked fairly worn down. The author was what caught her interest. 'Dr. Alphys.'

 _I might have found something…._ Frisk spoke to Chara, her curiosity piqued. The girl on the other end paused looking around to see if it ended up being useful.

She grabbed it and pulled it free from the shelf, dust flying. It looked ready to fall apart and she cupped it carefully in her hands staring at the cover. It was perfect.

"Keeping the Core Conditioned."

 _Scratch that, I found it!_


	9. A Fat Load of Scientific Diaries

**Love you all! Thanks for reading! You are all amazing!**

 **I'm so happy because this is the longest chapter EVA! I especially thank my friend, who wants to be known as PoptartKitten, for helping with my writers block.**

 **Thank you for support, blah blah, I'll get on with it.**

 **Freaking 4000+ words guys. :D**

* * *

Frisk stared at the leather cover, wiping the dust off in a quick motion, and sliding open the pages to the introduction. It started with a log from Alphys, describing what the book may entail. The curious girl dug into it without even a moment of hesitation.

Her excitement was strong enough that Chara hurried to join her, and soon they were both frantically scanning the pages, barely exchanging a word.

The royal scientist introduced herself at the beginning. It wasn't anything knew, but after the initial introduction there was something that caused Chara and Frisk to exchange glances.

 _My experiments, as shown in the next few chapters, are based off of papers from the previous royal scientist, W.D. Gaster. I do not recall the man, and neither does anyone else I have questioned, but from papers left behind in the abandoned lab I have concluded he was the previous royal scientist._

 _He was the one that mysteriously disappeared in the past with no explanation. I have done much digging on his previous experiments and papers, as well as discovered his log book. There is no explanation for his disappearance other than a deadly failed experiment, I regret to say._

 _But, once again, I am here to explain the core. W.D. Gaster was truly an intelligent monster for inventing it, and I have been honored to be left with the original blueprints and notes from him._

The introduction ended with that page. Before Frisk moved onto the next one, she turned to look at Chara with wide, surprised eyes. Chara met her gaze with a similar expression, and they shared the same thought.

"That's who invented the core!"

 _The core was invented by a rogue monster!_

It wasn't exactly the same thought, but both girls couldn't help but let out a giggle, their hearts lifted from the newfound discovery. After grinning at each other for a moment long, Frisk flipped the page and they continued reading.

 _Chapter 1_

 _The core is powered and run by magic. It also creates a magical energy that powers the whole underground through a series of star-like sparks._

 _These sparks are located in various random places, and although I cannot find any yet, D.W. Gaster has shown various evidence for their existence. He learned ways to calibrate the frequency of the core with them, and when magic is inserted into the sparks they overfill and send energy into the world about them. Gaster found ways to create machines that could harness this energy._

 _Of course not all of the energy is constantly used, and that which isn't finds it's way back to the core, which is in all sense a much larger version of an energy harness. It collects the extra energy and uses it to power itself and create more energy. The cycle is endless._

 _However, he also created the core with the ability to change the amount of energy it processes depending on how much extra energy it receives. The more extra energy it receives, the less it creates, leaving just enough so it will not overload._

 _If the core collects too much energy then it will become to filled and completely shut down. So, therefore, the main computer has to constantly change the equation so as to prevent the core from receiving much energy and overloading._

 _So as a summary, the core creates energy. Any extra unused energy is used to power it and create more energy. If there is too much energy then the core will overload, so it constantly has to change how much energy it puts into the sparks in order to prevent a shutdown._

 _If the energy suddenly stopped being used, however, leaving a ton of excess for the core to process, it would either overload or slowly begin to shut down. As it began processing more energy, it would begin making less and less until there was no more to power itself. If the monsters left the underground something like this would most likely happen._

 _Chapter 2_

 _I have added extra features to the core. There has been more energy used in light of my experiments, so I devised a cooling system. We gave a monster a job in the process._

 _He helps move ice from Snowdin to the core, which is a very effective method to prevent an overload. Energy is similar to heat, though with more properties, so I discovered that ice would be a perfect way to cool down the core, because an overload would consist of too much energy overheating the core._

 _Now there is only one way for it to shut down, which I mentioned before, and that would be a decline in the amount of energy._

 _It is unlikely for that to happen until we receive our 7th human soul, however._

 _Chapter 3_

 _It has come to my attention that the precious royal scientist, D.W. Gaster, left several notes on Determination, which is a topic King Asgore currently has me working on._

 _King Asgore still has no recollection of my successor, as I have observed._

 _Doctor Gaster's experiments have revealed that there are seven different types of human souls. The wizards who initially created the barrier had each their own. Bravery, Justice, Kindness, Patience, Integrity, Perseverance, and Determination._

 _We only have the first six, and the seventh type, determination, is what I believe holds the key to recreating a human soul._

 _All living humans have some determination, and if we find a soul completely based off of it then surely I will be able to recreate the substance. So far I have come fairly close to recreating it, though I am not sure how to tell when I figure it out._

 _Chapter 4_

 _It's been awhile since I've written in here. Things have been going very….wrong._

 _I sincerely suppose that is the best way to describe my failed experiments. I've been working with determination constantly, though there are side projects King Asgore gives me, so my time is taken up._

 _I have failed to contact the king regarding my experiments for the past few weeks because of the newfound care I have to enforce upon my amalgamates._

 _What are they? Deceased monsters who I have brought back to life with my attempts at determination. Except things went wrong. Terribly wrong._

Frisk stopped reading there, her hands clenching the edges of the book until her knuckles turned white. She stared blankly for a long moment, but Chara didn't notice.

She continued reading until the book was suddenly slammed shut and clutched to Frisk's chest. Chara stared for a moment, before narrowing her eyes. "What was that for?! I was reading!"

Frisk didn't respond, but gripped the book even tighter. Eventually Chara noticed her shaking hands and immediately her gaze softened. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

There was no response.

"Frisk?!" Her heart almost stopped for a moment and she feared another panic attack was on its way, so relief flooded her when she got a small smile in response.

 _Sorry...Chara...I blanked out. I...really don't want to read about the amalgamates._ She made an attempt to apologize, but only visibly relaxed when Chara smiled back.

"It's okay. I understand. Why don't we head downstairs? You can explore and I'll read, you'll have you flip pages." The offer was definitely genuine, and she figured it would probably be a good idea, as well as more productive. Frisk saw the pros too, and nodded in agreement, jumping off her chair.

 _Yeah, let's go. That's a good idea!_

"Yeah! Remember, I'm the brains, you're the brawn!" Chara quoted. She came up with the idea after watching one of her current favorite comedy shows for the first time.

 _I'm part of the brains too! But mostly the brawn, of course,_ she giggled in response, stepping onto the moving platform. It didn't take long to get to the elevator due the the moving platforms Alphys had installed.

Whether it was because of laziness or innovative instinct, the world would never know.

Frisk pushed a button and the elevator doors slowly opened, allowing the two to get inside. She let go of the book with one hand and reached out to choose which floor she would like to go to. It was amusing, considering it only led to one floor.

Her friend was just floating behind her, not saying anything and blankly staring at the doors as they slid shut before a loud whirring sound filled the atmosphere. It vibrated the whole elevator as it shot down.

The ride was, to say the least, closer to a rollercoaster than a box that slides up and down. Chara couldn't feel anything, but saw the whole thing shook while Frisk struggled to stand. As soon as the doors opened with an extraneous 'ding' they both dashed off, one clutching the book tightly to her chest.

When the doors started sliding shut behind her however, she suddenly wanted to conceal herself in that box.

Chara was right.

The lab was awful. That wasn't all, though. Frisk was able to feel and smell just how abandoned the place was, but in this case it couldn't air out, like the Judgement Hall and Plaza could.

It wasn't even how there were cobwebs and dust everywhere, but rather the repulsive stench that was the worst part. It was the air, and that was not capable of simply drifting away, for it had nowhere to go!

The hot, stuffy atmosphere didn't help, and Frisk suddenly found herself gagging, bringing up a hand to cover her nose and mouth.

"Is it that bad?" Chara asked, unable to experience those particular traits of the disgusting lab. She sighed when Frisk could only manage a nod, and decided to try and take control of the odd situation.

"Let's go check out the bed area first, yeah? You can put the book down and-"

 _I know._ Frisk interrupted, smiling behind her hand. _Please let's hurry. I might die of 'stink poisoning.'_ She wanted to laugh to lighten the situation, but really didn't want to breath more than she absolutely had to.

Chara nodded and pointed her finger towards the hall. "For Narnia!" Her proud cheer was met with a chorus of giggles, that soon turned into wicked coughing.

 _Oh- oh gawd. Sans could just send me here and it would be a perfect hell!_ Her hand covered her mouth and when she finally managed to stop coughing, the teary-eyed kid just ran in the direction Chara was pointing, not wanting to waste any more time.

Chara didn't protest and smiled to herself, once again enjoying her ghost powers, until she began to smell. Frisk stopped running and turned around, grinning, before bombarding Chara with all of her senses.

"STOP IT! AHH!" The scream echoed off the walls and Frisk, giggling away and trying not to cough once again, eventually stopped.

Chara stared blankly at her with narrowed eyes before huffing and floating on, faster than normal. Frisk's petite little footsteps tapped behind her in quick succession, and soon they made it to the room, where it was once again Frisk's turn to be in awe.

But not a good awe, no, this awe was created by the monstrosity you could call beds. They were extremely messy. Her first thought was relayed to Chara. _How many frigging monkeys were jumping on the bed?! Beds! Plural!_

The only response was a muffled laugh.

Frisk sighed, finally removing her hand from her mouth, not without a little gagging, and then hurried to the nearest, neatest bed, setting the book down. A little bit of dust flew into the thick air.

The book was hurriedly opened to the last read page before being left on the bed like a forgotten toy. Chara drifted over and made herself comfortable, though being incapable to feel, and began to read.

The other kid was exploring with a grin on her face despite everything. She was filled with determination to finish and get the hell outta that place if they learned anything or not. But, of course, an abandoned lab is bound to have some secrets, and they were quickly to be discovered.

"Hey, can you flip the page?" Chara called out, looking up for her friend, only to find her missing. Frisk was nowhere in sight. She panicked, using their mental connection to contact her. **Frisk? FRISK!?**

 _Yeah?_ She simply replied.

 **Where are you?! I'm done with my chapter!**

 _Oh, sorry. I finished that room, there wasn't much but I figured out where the stench was coming from. I'll come back and grab the book,_ she explained. Shortly afterwards Chara could hear her footsteps hurrying along the tiled floor.

Frisk rushed in and swiped up the book in a fluid motion before turning around and jogging back the way she entered. Chara followed, confused.

 _So what did you read about?_ Frisk questioned, pausing.

"I read about Alphys' initial reactions to when the amalgamates started forming. It was pretty heartbreaking, honestly. You were smart not to read it." It really was. Alphys had explained her reactions when it first happened, and how fear forced her to lie to the king, as well as many other monsters.

 _Yeah...I just…._ Frisk sighed and looked around, before continue to walk. _I had a bad feeling about it. Here, let me show you the source of the stink._ Chara noticed the subject change, but didn't mind, and followed behind her 'tour guide.'

Frisk led the way to the right halI, which just held several glass wall window-looking things. Frisk slowed near the last one and pointed at it. The reflective material was cracked, and there looked to be some sort of gas pouring out of it. The human who could smell was once again covering her mouth and nose with a long sleeve, her eyebrows wrinkled in disgust.

 _That's where it's coming from. There isn't anything else this way, so we can move on._ She explained, not even waiting for Chara before turning around and dashing away, her hair flying out behind her.

The ghost smiled and soon caught up to her. Frisk didn't slow down, but removed her hand from her mouth and clutched the book tighter against her chest.

A while later, they both paused at the long hall. _I think we should avoid the bathtub…_ Her eyes scanned down the long, abandoned hall. It did not seem scarier than before, but more woesome. Lonely.

Chara nodded in agreement and floated on. The room with the video clips wasn't far, she had been looking at it when Frisk found the book, and noticed that there were more tapes. Not just the ones that included her and Asriel.

 _ **Asriel...**_ They both suddenly shared the thought, exchanging glances. Flowey was still down here, but they hadn't run into him. Hopefully it wouldn't happen.

Frisk sped up her jog, taking a sharp left into the room. The first thing she noticed, same as Chara, was the multiple videos. The ones that had been watched before were set neatly on the floor next to the screen, though it looked like they might be there a while.

So, without wanting to waste time, Frisk set the book down and opened it up to the next page. She set it next to a comfortable looking spot where she could sit while listening to the recordings.

Chara followed her example, settling down as she picked out one that was labeled "Log:1"

As she became absorbed in the book, First put it in and prayed the recording would work. As static flickered on, her smile grew, and she went to sit down next to the book, patiently waiting for it to start.

"Log 1 of Royal Scientist, W.D. Gaster."

Both of their heads snapped up to the device with wide eyes. Chara completely forgot about the book, and they both listened to the scratchy, deep voice that filled the room.

"I suppose a quick introduction will benefit those who do not know who I am, though in reality there is no doubt you have heard of me, unless I have long been turned into dust. As I stated before, I am the Royal Scientist, hand picked by my king, Asgore Dreemurr."

There was a short paused filled with a static rustling sound, and they couldn't make out some words.

Just as Frisk was going to see if it was working the voice returned.

"My apologies, my oldest son just got home from monster school. Ah, yes, maybe I can introduce you to him. Sans! Sans? Oh dear, he seems to have run off."

The room went dead silent for the two listeners who ever so slowly turned to each other with wide, disbelieving eyes. Their utter surprise didn't take long to root, but they didn't have time to quite believe it for he continued talking.

"Well, anyway, back to business. I used to wonder the point of logs. Why talk to yourself on a recording device? I can understand taking notes down, of course, but not in a diary-like form. Because in all honesty, that's what it is. A scientific diary, or journal as some like to put it."

"Of course I have begun to realize the benefits of logs. For those who are interested in how some of my works came about to be, or who I am, they can simply listen to me talk to myself instead of doing research. Though, trust me, you still need to research."

"I can also record my experiments and findings, as well as the things I have accomplished as the Royal scientist. I haven't been here for a very long period of time. Probably about half of the years we have been in the underground, but I'm still working on the core."

"The core is an idea I had procured and studied thoroughly before offering it to King Asgore. I was elected as the Royal Scientist shortly after, and my success is slow coming. It is not a small project, to say the very least. It's taken up more time to gather the resources then it did to do the research."

"The whole ordeal is very overwhelming, but the construction started recently. It will hopefully be finished within a year. I'm very exhausted, and should probably get sleep while I can, considering I must be there to supervise construction and make sure all of the pieces fit correctly."

"Oh, my apologies, it is rather late. Sans needs to brush his teeth, the little rebel. I'll talk to myself next time I can, I suppose. Dr. Gaster out."

The clip went into a static silence for a moment before clicking off, the constant little whirring in the background slowly to a stop. Frisk could barely breath, and Chara couldn't.

She couldn't breath at all, but that had never been a problem before. They were both awestruck, but eventually one of them managed to speak.

 _Sans...is his son? Does Sans know? Does he remember Gaster?_

Chara frantically shook her head. Not in a way of saying no, but rather an attempt to get her thoughts in order. It slightly worked, though her mind was still in jumbles, and eventually she was able to create words, mumbling an, "I don't know." Frisk, barely hearing her, just stared, as she too was confused by the new information. Chara repeated her remark.

"I really don't know! I mean...Sans NEVER talks about his dad! Or Papyrus! I really am not sure what the whole deal is with this. I've never heard of this Dr. Gaster before now...do you think something happened and everybody just swore not to talk about it?"

Frisk pursed her lips, deep in thought. _I mean..maybe. I've read books where sometime people mess up so bad, that they get…. put down…. or taken to jail, and then nobody talks about horrible things they did. It doesn't feel like this would be the case...I...just don't know._

Chara nodded this time, looking down at the book in front of her. She decided reading it at a later time might work better. Frisk, realizing what her partner wanted, moved her hand over, gently shutting it. She then picked it up and placed it in her lap, drumming her fingers on the leather cover.

 _We really do need to ask Alphys for help..._ Frisk admitted, pausing in her tapping. Chara turned to look at her, unable to cease her growing smile.

"Really? You think so?" Frisk nodded in response. "That's great!"

 _But we only tell her limited stuff, alright? Or...I tell her. I won't tell her about you, of course._

"That might not be a bad thing," Chara sighed, turning to scan the rest of the logs.

 _She's a scientist, Chara. It probably won't end well. You're my dirty little secret._

"What did you just call me?" Chara demanded, glaring at her friend. Frisk was giggling, and stood. She moved over and and set the book down on the tape player, before moving to walk out of the room. Chara tried to stop her, questioning the actions. "What are you doing?"

Frisk just turned around, running backwards, and gestured for Chara to follow. _I'm going upstairs for a pen and lots of paper. I want to record what he says, because we can't take all of the tapes back with us._

Chara, whose eyes lit up with realization, hurried to follow.

It took them way too long to complete the round trip, even though most of it was finding paper. Frisk had been getting hungry as well, so they grabbed some noodles from Alphys' fridge and cooked them up. They were old, but not that bad. Apparently the stuff did actually last a long time.

Frisk also managed to find a clean rag to tie around her mouth and nose to help with the stench and then they hurried back down to the lab.

It was long into the night when they finished, Frisk trying hard not to fall asleep. They had no idea what time it was, everything in the lab being in a lifeless and unmoving. When they finally stopped, Frisk sloppily finished jotting down a few more words before leaning back, cradling her cramped up hand.

They were informed about how the core came about to be, Dr. Gaster's studies on it, and how he created most of the parts. They also learned of a secret chamber which had something to do with memories, though none knew what about other than Gaster himself. The answers they held were there, but more questions spiraled off of those answers.

It was especially strange when Asgore had taken to speaking in the place of Dr. Gaster. He had explained that a failed experiment took away the 'skeleton's' voice, leading to believe Gaster was one, and that Asgore was there to read letters to the camera in his place.

Both of the kids had smiled while listening to their father's voice.

By the end, Chara was feeling a little dragged down by all of the information crammed into her head, and she really needed to digest the detailed descriptions. Frisk, also feeling the same way, was relieved when they stopped and was ready to sleep on what was recently acquired.

They still had a long walk back through the core, and all the way to the surface. It would take several hours, and suddenly Chara realized how consequential these actions might be.

"We need to head home…" she muttered, starting Frisk out of a sleepy daze. "Mom, she's going to be worried sick! Whatever excuse Sans might have made won't even pull this off!" They had been there for quite a few hours.

Frisk suddenly jumped up, holding the neatly folded papers, fear flashing across her face. She leapt forward and grabbed Alphys' leather log book before whirling around to face Chara. _Crap! You are so right! We need to frigging run!_

"Frisk! You are too tired to run! We have to walk, okay? It'll take long but you won't die!" Chara tried to soothe her in a calming voice, knowing panicking was not the best option.

Frisk took a deep breath and closed her eyes, nodding. Realizing she was on the verge of panicking again, she eventually calmed herself enough to attempt a smile.

 _Okay._

Chara smiled back. "You feeling better now?"

Frisk nodded, clutching her things to her chest as before, and with a silent agreement they set off at a steady pace, not too fast or slow.

To say it took them a while to get home would be an understatement, and to say Toriel was joyful to have them back so late would be like calling the devil a delight.


	10. Simply Sleepy

**A special thanks to my beautiful friend Poptart Kitten, once again, for helping big time! She's really helping me stay loyal to you guys.**

 **Thank you for reading! If you notice any mistakes let me know, thanks again! I'm pretty proud of this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy it too. Things are getting deeep.**

 **Seriously my theories are sick.**

 **Love you! :D**

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The walk from the underground to their house was extremely long and tedious, not to mention painful in the sense that Frisk's legs wanted to fall off. When she finally reached the house, it wasn't relief flooding her senses, but rather exhaustion.

Chara tried to convince her to climb through her window, but that would be impossible.. So, still somehow managing to keep her steps quiet, she tried to sneak in through the front door. Despite being very late, her plan didn't work.

There was a very frantic horde of monsters waiting for them.

Undyne was the first to notice the exhausted child slinking in through the front door. She lept up from her seat and charged at the little human. Everyone was soon to follow the rapid fish, who had scooped Frisk up in a tight hug.

The child immediately went limp in her arms and she stared down at the fragile thing. Her mouth opened to scold, but simply hung there without anything to say. Frisk looked exhausted and had already dealt with a punishment inflicted by herself.

A sad smile crept up on the warrior, who only held Frisk tighter.

It's so comfortable. She sighed, sinking deeper. Her consciousness was fading away, and Chara tried her best to slow the inevitable.

 **Frisk! Stay awake! You can't sleep, remember? Not yet. You still have the papers! Frisk!** Chara was practically screaming at her exhausted friend, trying to keep her conscious just a bit longer.

But she couldn't help it. Her eyes weighed too much to stay open, it was too much effort. She was staring up at Undyne, seemingly paralyzed to the others, when her gaze flickered to those huddled around.

Papyrus and Mettaton were holding hands, standing close to each other. Alphys stood in front of them, her eyes narrowed not at Frisk, but the notebook clutched close to her chest. Sans wasn't around, but it was Toriel and Asgore who grasped her attention.

Toriel was glaring at her child. There were no words from her, and she was completely silent. Frsk barely managed to meet her gaze, though it petrified her. She was too tired to move her hands, and unwilling to let go of the book, so she somehow managed to speak.

"Sorry…" Her voice cracked with the one word, still hoarse from screaming at Sans, and she shut her eyes in pain.

They never opened, no matter how much Chara tried to wake her.

"Oh my God…" Undyne muttered, finally managing to overcome silence.. Her speechless recovery was followed by everyone else as they burst into confused chatter. Only Toriel remained quiet, her jaw tense.

Even the shy Alphys was speaking , though her words were nothing but a stuttered jumble of syllables. Her eyes did not leave the familiar leather journal encased in Frisk's arms.

Finally she took a deep breath and looked up at her wife, determination set in her features. Undyne paused after a low rant that would usually be done with more volume had Frisk not been sleeping.

She raised an eyebrow and Alphys gestured to the journal. That was when Undyne really noticed it. She had seen it before of course, but didn't really process it until the short scaled monster gestured to it. With a gentle grace she managed to pry it away from Frisk, who barely stirred.

The others had returned to speechless staring, very confused.

Toriel finally conveyed some of her thoughts on the matter, despite her anger being obvious in her refusal to speak. "What is that?" Her voice was lined with irritation, and Alphys didn't want to be the subject of it.

She flipped it open, just to make sure. "T-tori...it's...it's my royal log book…."

'Your royal log book?" Mettaton interjected. "But didn't you loose that in the Underground?"

Alphys shut the old thing, pushing her glasses up her nose. She looked over at the robot. "Exactly, Mettaton. I left it in the Underground."

"So Frisk's been there this entire time?" The king looked bewildered, and moved towards Undyne, taking his child from her, and holding her tightly. She had papers clutched to her chest as well, but he decided to leave them be.

"No, of course not, simply the walk to the Underground, and then my lab, would take several hours in itself! The poor thing must be exhausted!" The full grandeur of what Frisk did weighed down upon them, and Papyrus came up with a great idea.

"I'LL MAKE HER SOME SPAGHETTI FOR WHEN SHE WAKES! THAT WILL RESTORE HER ENERGY!" He seemed very excited and tried to make a bolt for the kitchen, but Mettaton grabbed his hand.

"Darling, I think our poor Frisk is going to sleep for a while. If you make your spaghetti now it will get cold, so wait a while, alright? And try to keep your voice down. She's tired." He smiled at Papyrus and received a grin and a nod in return.

Toriel and Asgore exchanged glances. A mutual agreement passed between them and as Asgore turned to take Frisk to bed, Toriel remained, grasping her friend's attention.

"Asgore is putting my child to bed. You are all welcome to head home and get some rest, because I am sure you are tired as well. It is late, after all. I am going to go and talk to Sans. I bid you all a goodnight." She smiled and then turned, preparing to do just as she said.

There was confusion left behind, but eventually the monsters did do as suggested. They went to their homes in their couples.

Meanwhile, Toriel was very surprised to find Sans already awake. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, waiting for her arrival. The interaction was inevitable they both knew, and she gently shut the door behind her.

"Sans. Why did you lie?" There was no sense in weaving around her point.

He looked up, his smiled fading a bit. When he had gotten home, after the encounter with Toriel and an attempt to cover up lies, he had taken a nap. After that Frisk still wasn't home, and Toriel was getting worried.

After a quick shortcut through the Judgement Hall and several places on the way home, he couldn't find her. Frisk wasn't anywhere to be found, and that resulted in a panic. After the initial fear died down, it didn't take much thinking to deduce another lie, that would once again result in Monster Kid's cooperation.

" i didn't lie, Tori." He stated. His smile was once again flawless and there was no hesitation in his voice.

Tori frowned, glaring daggers. "Sans. I don't want to hear anymore lies! You're just digging your grave deeper!"

"seriously, Tori. all I did was take the kid to her friend's, alright? ain't done nothing wrong. i think the kiddo is the one you should be questioning."

Toriel threw her hands in the air in frustration. "But she's sleeping! And what reason would she have for going down there and grabbing Alphys' lab journal!" Her hands came down as quickly as they came up, and she buried her face in one hand. "I don't know, Sans. I just...the nightmares won't stop coming and then Frisk disappeared…"

Sans shot up from his seat, his grin completely gone. Surprise shot across his face and he took a step towards her. "you got them too?"

She nodded. "Asgore and I have been for the past couple nights...Wait...you as well?" Now she looked surprised. Her initial irritation was reduced by a bit with this newfound information.

His smile returned for a moment. His lies were better than he figured. Sans let out a sigh, plopping back down on his bed, and glanced up at her. 'ya should probably get some sleep. me too...im bone tired."

Despite herself Tori laughed. She bid him a goodnight and snuck out the door, hurrying to her room. Asgore would want to know that Sans was dealing with it too!

Sans watched her leave, his grin returning. It was sadistic, and the small laugh that followed was as well. I'm no better than Frisk...he chuckled, falling back onto the mattress. A dirty liar. But, you know, I'm good at it. They'll never know.

He was right in more ways than one, but wrong in others. Chara and Frisk knew, of course. Chara had even witnessed the whole conversation between him and Tori.

After his weak chuckles faded into snores, she floated back to Frisk's room. The kid was fast asleep, curled up nicely under her covers where Asgore had placed her. He had removed the papers from her grasp and neatly set them on the bedside table.

"I'll probably be lonely for a while…" Chara muttered to herself, glancing around. Frisk was sleeping like a rock, and unless a particularly bad nightmare plagued her sleep, she might be that way for a while.

Out of boredom and curiosity the ghost headed over to Undyne's house. She wanted to know what happened to the log book.

As she arrived, Chara saw Undyne and Alphys. They were talking, and as she floated closer, the conversation was about the log book. Undyne was pacing around while Alphys was staring blankly, deep in thought

'Why would the punk have that?' Undyne questioned. Alphys looked up at the sound of her voice, startled out of her trance.

'I-I don't k-know' She stuttered out, clutching the leather book harder.

'Why did you even have a diary anyways? Who knows what Frisk might have found out from that book?!" The dinosaur looked startled at Undyne's sudden outburst. Unlike other times where she may have stayed quiet, Alphys' temper flared. It had been a long night and Undyne was yelling at her.

"What else was i supposed to do! I was all alone in that. I had nobody to talk to…. It was my way of coping! And it was a freaking scientific logbook at first!" The lizard yelled back, shocking both her and Undyne.

The fish's expression quickly morphed into rage however.

'What was I then?! I was never there huh? Well, I guess I wasn't, and you still don't trust me! You won't even let me read the endnotes…." As her anger began to subside it began to leaving an empty hole. "I think I need time to think...about everything…." She turned around, crossing her arms, and faced the door. Her emotions were going crazy and it was getting confusing. She was about to reach out and open the door when claws gripped her own. She didn't move.

"Undyne, please... I started that logbook to document my experiences as the Royal Scientist. I knew you, of course, but you didn't even know my name until I was the Royal Scientist! I obviously wasn't going to spill my secrets to a silly schoolgirl crush!" Alphys didn't know where the words were coming from, but as she poured her thoughts out to Undyne her confidence grew.

Undyne's heart swelled a bit and she tightened her grasp on her wife's hand. She didn't turn around, but the small gesture was reassuring to both of them. "We still need to think this over, alright? I love you, Alphys, but with everything that's happened we need space."

With that, she left. It took only a few seconds to leave the room, but she didn't fail to hear Alphys' reply as she closed the door. "I love you too…."

Undyne smiled as the door clicked shut.

Alphys wasn't so happy. She was glad their fight didn't end with tears and hoarse voices, but the book was still in her hands, and the questions flying around her mind were giving her a headache.

"Why...did Frisk grab my log book? Why would she go down there just to grab it? And those papers? And...how much did she read…" Her eyes widened and Alphys leaned back in her chair, considering the prospect.

Frisk had been the first person to know about her lies other than Mettaton, who really didn't understand the full extent of her sins.

Even now, when everyone had forgiven her, she still regretted it. She regretted the thought of those monsters who had to stay in the underground because of melted family. It had been for the better, of course, but would never have to happen if it wasn't for her mistakes!

Most experiments were bound to fail the first time through, and she knew that. That's why testing was necessary, but Alphys didn't have any of the dim-witted creatures the surface was rumored to hold. She had dead bodies of passed monsters.

They were her experiments, and they failed. The consequences were bad. The families of course claimed to be happy their loved ones were back, although melded with others, but there was still hesitation. And the lies she had told to Asgore in order to gain the title of Royal scientist. She never deserved any of it. She was smart, sure, but that was no excuse to lie in order to get something. She regretted all of that, but her friends were forgiving and helping her move on.

The log book brought back those memories, however. It also brought back another realization as she skimmed through it.

There were several chapters dedicated to the core, and most of them mentioned W.D. Gaster. Nobody remembered him, oddly, and her only evidence was his notes and logs. He mentioned memories several times.

That hit a nerve. The subject of memories had always been confusing to Alphys. There was a room hidden under the core, according to the original blueprints, and no way to access it. It took a lot of work to gather enough information to put together some theories, but she had managed.

This unused, accessible room was made to store the excess junk the core picked up. Because, considering it was magic, there was other stuff that could be dragged along with the energy that would be eventually brought back to the core. According to Gaster, some of those things were memories. In humans memories simply fade from the mind, but since monsters are made of magic theirs' don't simply disappear, but instead get cast out into the world like trash, inaccessible.

He figured it out through experimentation with his son, Sans, who had special short-cutting abilities. Once the skeleton teleported into the room he was assaulted by previous memories. Only his own, however. Gaster claimed another theory from this that memories could only belong to the monster that made them.

"It made sense…so much sense…and now I don't want to believe it…" Alphys muttered to herself, burying her head in her hands.

The core was probably beginning to shut down. The magical force that kept the extra magic in the room would be fading, and without it to hold trash in then everything was free game. Generally small memories faded away after a short time.

It was all making sense, but she didn't want to believe it. The nightmares were memories. Huge, impacting memories like those would never fade, and generally not leave the monster in the first place, but if they were stolen somehow…

"Somehow...our memories…." She sighed, leaning back in her chair again. "Were stolen."

Chara had been watching the fight go down. She wasn't worried, they still loved each other, but both needed some time to sort things out. As Chara stayed behind to observe Alphys for a bit, she began regretting Undyne's decision to give herself space.

The dinosaur was putting the pieces together. Luckily, she hadn't pinned it on Frisk, but the few words she had whispered were enough to prove she was getting there.

Chara frowned and turned away to catch up to Undyne. She wanted to see if she might be able overhear a little from the fish's perspective.

Undyne was going to attempt to sleep on the couch, but that didn't seem far enough, and she wasn't going to sleep much anyway. So, grabbing her well-worn leather jacket, she stepped out of the house and took a quick walk to Papyrus' house.

Chara watched as she knocked on the door and was hastily welcomed by Mettaton.

Undyne was very grateful for the robots understanding. She was immediately taken into their arms, and while Papryus wouldn't stop asking questions out of confusion, Mettaton was managing to dodge his way around them. Eventually they got the skeleton to bed, and both talked for a little while.

"I mean, I know I love her, Mettaton. And she loves me. We just both lost our temper and need some space I guess."

The robot laughed. "Alphys lost her temper? Goodness darling, you both definitely need a bit. Besides, her brain is probably focusing on why Frisk had her lab book."

Undyne smiled in response. "Yeah, knowing her she probably already got it figured out. I hope she'll let me know. Thanks, Metta."

"Always," he responded with a hug. They continued conversing, but Chara quickly got bored. Their idea of good topics weren't parallel with hers, and she had other things to do. Finally she left the fish's side, deciding to check up on her friend. The flight to Frisk's room was pretty short. The monsters all lived in one pretty big neighborhood after all. When she did arrive, however, something seemed off.

The atmosphere was dark, more so then just the lights being off, but Chara felt uneasy. She drifted over to the bed, where her friend was sleeping with a small smile on her face.

That made Chara smile, relieved that Frisk was getting some good sleep. It made her consider the nightmares, and how close some might be to discovering their secret. At that point it might have been good to tell the others, but that would be up to Frisk.

And the way things were going nothing like that was going to happen soon.

As she looked down at her friend, something stirred inside of Chara. It started to reach out of her soul, trying to pull itself out and take root. Her hand twitched and tightened around an imaginary blade that pierced her imagination.

Frisk had been to exhausted to put up her walls, and was completely vulnerable. That dark atmosphere Chara had been feeling was her friends vulnerability.

It was a weakness, and she tried to snap out of it, recoiling in horror. The blade faded from her mind, but the want to control remained. That feeling of utter control and the power behind the LOVE…

In frustration, Chara stepped back, turning away from Frisk. The temptation died a bit, and that filled her with enough determination to shove the evil voice back down. The thought of LOVE slipped from her mind, and within a few deep breaths she had gotten the situation under control.

With Frisk so vulnerable, she could have easily taken control, but Chara wasn't going to let that happen. Especially not now.

She did, although keeping her thoughts from straying to love, tried to formulate a plan that might get her and Frisk out of the very real danger of being discovered, if they hadn't already. There were no excuses that came to mind, so eventually she left her sleeping friend and headed to her parent's room.

They were attempting to sleep, from what it looked like. Both were facing away from each other, but at the same time had eyes that were wide open. Either they were fearful or the gears were turning in their minds.

They might figure it out on their own if Alphys decided to provide the rest of the puzzle. Chara cursed under her breath at Frisk's exhaustion. She regretted not telling the girl to hide the papers and notebook. At least Asriel had let her keep the papers.

If anybody read those it would make the whole situation worse.

Chara, her head hurting from all of the information, left Asgore and Toriel to get some sleep. She drifted outside into what she could only call chilly weather. The sky was perfectly clear, and even though the moon was missing, the stars were luminous.

A breeze passed by as she watched the tops of the trees rustle, where leaves still continued to descend to the ground. It was beautiful.

Chara decided to stay and enjoy the sight for a while. Nobody would wake up for a while, for it was already early in the morning. As the darkness enveloped her, she smiled at the peace, and for once, everything was still.


	11. Confrontation

**Alright. This quarter is going to be super busy, but I'll try to keep my chapter's quality up! Anyway, in the writing world, I've got lots of stuff happening.**

 **I had created an account on AO3, but have decided against posting anything there. It's just a little too much work! And for those of you who have been here long enough I changed my name to SophisticatedBlurb instead of UndertaleGurl, which was my old username,**

 **Alright, confusion done with, enjoy this chapter! If you have any questions let me know! I really like this chapter *Cheesy grin***

* * *

The sun was shining directly through the window by the time Frisk woke up. It was extremely bright outside, and the sudden light burned her vision. In an attempt to block it out she threw her hands over her eyes. The underground wasn't a very luminous place, and it had been dark when she reached the surface.

It was safe to say she hadn't seen the light of day for a while.

It took a few moments for her to get used to the sudden change, and eventually she realized that her eyes no longer stung, and that she was just hiding in her bed. That dragged a sigh out of her. She managed to sit up, squinting slightly, and scan her room. She wondered how she got there.

 _Chara?_ She called as she dragged her legs over the side of her bed. Her feet just touched the well-worn rug, and she dug her toes into whatever fluff it had left. Her whole room was chilly, and she wanted to return to the warm toasty bed behind her, but it was too late for that. The cold air was beginning to drag her brain out of the muck, and it would be impossible to fall asleep again.

There was no response to Chara's summoning, and Frisk briefly wondered what happened to her friend before noticing the wrinkled papers set gently on her desk. She went to grab them, but paused as another realization hit her waking mind. The log book was missing.

Her eyes widened, and she jumped up from her position. It resulted in a painful wince. Her legs had cramped as soon as she used them, and instead of hurrying around the room to look for the book, she ended up limping. It was nowhere to be seen, and she halted her search, closing her eyes in frustration.

Last night, or morning, Chara had been warning her not to pass out, but that had to be what happened. Frisk couldn't remember anything past Undyne's strong arms holding her. Chances were, one of her friends had the logbook, and somehow she needed to get it back.

With a sigh, the girl opened her eyes, taking a deep breath in to calm herself, though it was quickly released in the form of a shriek. Her hand flew to cover her mouth and dull the sound as she tried to pull herself together.

Chara was trying to hold back a smile, taking pride in her ability to scare her friend. Soon, once she realized her sudden appearance had been processed, her eyes narrowed. "Frisk you are fInally awake!" Her mouth straightened to a thin line, though amusement shone behind her eyes. "I've been bored for HOURS! It's after noon already!" She was floating in front of Frisk, waving her arm around and trying her best to look annoyed and angry.

Frisk couldn't help her smile.

 _For hours? How long have I been asleep? And good to see you too!_ She asked, genuinely curious. When Chara responded, it was pretty surprising.

"Well...we got home at around 2 in the morning I think… And it's about 1 or 2 right now, so almost 12 hours."

 _Only 12 hours?_ Frisk pondered to her friend, trying to get over the bookworm side of her. Usually after long adventures the characters would be passed out for days! Then again, authors tended to exaggerate things like that.

"Only twelve hours!?" Chara exclaimed. She had thrown her hands in the air, and looked startled at her friends reaction. "A lot can happen in 12 hours! A lot HAS happened! I mean sure everybody went to bed not long after you...and then slept for about 9 hours...but that still means they were awake for like three or four hours. A lot can happen then too!"

Frisk was now more confused than ever. Her friend was actually freaking out now, not faking it, and seemed frantic about something. She dug her feet into the carpet, hugging her shoulders.

 _Okay. Calm down! Why are you freaking out so bad? What happened while I was asleep?_ The human was more determined than ever to get the whole story out of her friend, but she didn't have to wait for an answer.

Without even hesitating, Chara delivered probably the most important information first without trying to sugarcoat it. "Alphys almost found us out, Frisk. She is really close. Like...extremely close. If she didn't go to sleep when she did, we might have been discovered."

 _What? How?_ The response came quickly from the girl, who found herself lightheaded at the prospect.

"The log book! She found the log book! Her and Undyne were even fighting over it, and the latter decided to take a break. They both needed some time to think, and Alphys was really close."

There was a pause, and they locked gazes, both realizing the weight of the situation. When Frisk didn't speak, Chara continued. She explained what had happened with each of the monsters and how she witnessed their different revelations.

"If everybody gets together to talk about what they know...they will surely find us out. And Sans could blow your cover any minute! He is bound to know the others are close, and there is nothing stopping him."

 _I'm sorry…_ The apology came as soon as Chara took a moment to breathe, and left both glancing away from one another nervously.

"Sorry for….what…?" Her friend questioned.

 _I guess….I guess for passing out. Alphys got the log book, and she would never be this close. And….then I'm not sure how we can stop them from figuring out now! I don't think I can get out of this!_ It was obvious that the child was once again beginning to panic. She had turned pale and was staring at nothing with wide eyes.

Chara quickly stopped Frisk in her tracks. "Hey, it's okay. You couldn't help it. The human body, and even monster body, has physical needs that our minds just can't prevent!" She paused, and then smiled warmly. "I'll come and be the little voice in your head, why don't you head downstairs? A few monsters are talking down there."

Frisk, letting out a sigh, agreed. She quickly brushed her hair and washed her face before doing as the ghost suggested.

It didn't take long for her to look presentable, thought it wasn't like her parents would care, but the whole process woke her up. She had fully come out of the fog that clouds the minds of those who have recently awoken.

This time, when she opened the door to her room, it wasn't in a frenzied panic. She simply walked out and snuck down the stairs, keeping quiet. The house was relatively abandoned as well. The only sounds she heard were low voices beyond the kitchen walls.

They were probably trying to prevent waking her up. Or hide something from her, Frisk realized with a start. Fear gripped her soul, and she suddenly started down the stairs, not really caring about silence, and hurried across the living room. Once near the dining hall she could hear what the monsters were conversing about.

It was nothing important, and Chara scoffed. **Jeez girl. You could relax a little, you know.**

 _This isn't the time for relaxing!_ Frisk snapped at her friend, her expression morphing into a glare. _My entire life might be at stake! I don't know what they will think!_

When there was no response, she stepped forward in frustration. Chara quickly snapped back after that, however. **Your life? Imagine what THEY are going to feel when they find out!**

Frisk didn't move, she just stood there, the only sign of movement her breathing and the occasional twitch of her frown. _I'm sorry, okay? Just…_

 **It's alright. Let's just go. It's not like they will mind your interrupting of a conversation about pies.**

 _Okay…._ She could feel Chara's presence tuck back into the corners of her mind, and tried to hide her regret. She was starting to be selfish, and that wasn't the right way to go. Honestly there was probably no correct path for whatever her future held, but she needed to scope out the one that would end with less hurt.

If she wasn't in her right mind, things would not end anywhere close to okay. And so far the best option looked like Alphys. She needed to talk to the dinosaur, who might just be the most likely to understand, as well as someone who could help them.

It would be tough convincing her, and even more lies would need to be woven in order to protect the truth.

It was as Frisk stalked into the kitchen, seeing her parents and friends standing there, that she realized she would go to great lengths to protect her life with them. It might have seemed selfish, and was partially, but there was some honor to it.

Honor in the fact that by keeping the truth from everybody, she would be preserving their happiness. The poor kid was completely traumatized by everything that had happened, and the monsters couldn't be any less scarred by it. They were also the victims, Frisk couldn't take that title, no matter what she claimed about LOVE.

There were some things Frisk didn't even know about herself, and most of them Chara had realized a long time into the past. Her friend was completely emotionally unstable, and when tragedy struck, there would be no going back. That was why this whole returning memory phenomenon would have to stop.

Chara feared what Frisk would do.

Frisk was powerful. Even with little determination she was strong. And if her friends found out, her determination might completely fail, or run even more than before.

The outcome could be anywhere in between those options.

They both tried to shake the thoughts from their minds when warm, comforting arms wrapped around Frisk. She quickly hugged the beast back, unable to hold back the grin that broke out on her face.

There was a light chuckle that comforted the child to the very core, and she gripped Toriel even tighter. "Good afternoon, my child." The mother stood, her paws resting on Frisk's shoulders gently. "I was worried you would never wake! You seemed exhausted when you walked in. Would you like some tea?"

At the mention of tea, Frisk suddenly became aware of the entrancing aroma that filled the kitchen. Her attention was drawn to her father, Asgore, who stood by the stove with a welcoming smile. She soon had her face buried in his fur, which smelled like lavender.

She giggle at the warmth he provided while Chara was rolling her eyes in the background. It was silly really what could make Frisk forget about the reality of their situation.

 **Oh Frisk. All it takes is a hug for you to unwind?** She sighed, and Frisk only smiled wider into Asgore's fur before opening her senses for Chara. Immediately the ghosts demeanor changed, and her sigh was full of contentment. **I guess I take it back,** she admitted reluctantly, enjoying the warm feeling of fur and comforting smell of lavender and tea.

Frisk, feeling rather triumphant, only responded with another small giggle before letting go of her father. She smiled up at him, meeting the warm gaze, before she noticed the teapot on the stove. Asgore followed her line of sight and quickly grabbed a coffee cup for her before carefully pouring her tea.

A few minutes later Frisk was seated at the counter, sipping the warm, golden liquid. Sans was also in the kitchen, he had been talking with Tori and Asgore when the kid entered. Now, as she looked around, she noticed that Papyrus was there as well. He was wearing his bright orange apron that had "Cool dude" printed across the chest.

It was his favorite to wear when making spaghetti, and was covered in stains because of it.

And speaking of cooking, he appeared to be making something upon the stove, right next to the tea. It's aroma was faint, and she had't noticed it above the Golden Flower tea, but now it was becoming more powerful as he continued.

Papyrus was actually getting good at cooking other things besides spaghetti. He was the messiest chef ever, thanks to Undyne's guidance. Luckily Toriel enjoyed cleaning.

Frisk sniffed the air, a smile breaking out on her face. "Are you making eggs Papyrus?!"

The tall skeleton turned to her, his permanent grin almost radiating light. He let out a few grand, rolling 'nyehehehe's before explaining. "YES, DEAR HUMAN! I DECIDED THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS LATE, IT SHOULD STILL TECHNICALLY BE MORNING BECAUSE EVERYBODY SLEPT IN! IT IS THE WEEKEND AFTER ALL!" He seemed proud of his deduction, and then paused. His smile seemed to falter, and he tilted his head to the side.

"DID YOU JUST…?" There was a moment of hesitation, and Toriel filled in.

"Speak? You...never speak? Is everything alright my child?" Sudden her mother was by her side, worry filling her features. Her gaze was scanning and searching for any hint of illness or emotional stress.

Frisk shied away from her mom, coughing awkwardly. She then lifted her hands from the warm coffee cup and began to sign, covering up her mistake well. 'Nobody was really paying attention to me. So I decided to ask I guess….sorry.' The apology was well accepted, and Asgore patted her head.

"No worries dear. You can speak if you like."

Papyrus nodded. "OF COURSE! THE EGGS ARE ALMOST DONE AS WELL. WOULD YOU LIKE SOME?!" Now that he was looking at Frisk, she nodded happily.

The speaking was just a simple slip up, though she still felt awkwards afterwards. Chara poked out from her corner a little bit to comfort her friend, and soon the nervousness was gone.

Until Toriel began acting weird. She started hesitating, and avoiding Frisk's gaze, and as soon as the others noticed they began to act off as well. The child was getting irritated, and eventually clapped her hands together to gain their attention. Asgore nearly dropped the plate of eggs Papyrus had served.

"Y-yes, my child?" He cooed, though his voice was strained.

Frisk frowned and began signing. The easy atmosphere from before hadn't taken long to shift into an uncomfortable one. 'What's wrong?' She inquired, thought right after her hands finished creating the words her mind figured it out.

Toriel replied. Her demeanor once again changed, and she stood a bit taller, her jaw firmly set. "Frisk…" she began, meeting her gaze. The child looked away, now starting to take the place of the nervous one, and picked at her eggs.

"Why were you in the underground last night? And why did you have Alphys' log book?! You were down there for two days! I was so worried! You lied to Sans! And Monster Kid! And you didn't tell me! The amalgamates are down there and...and you could have been hurt...and we wouldn't know! And…" She was stopped by her husband, who rested his paw on her shoulder. Toriel had begun to rant, and was starting to let her anger and confusion show.

Frisk had frozen in place, unsure of what to say.

Or, rather, sign. Even Chara, who she called on for help, couldn't think of anything. So, in her own bout of confusion, the first thing she signed was 'monster kid?'

Everyone paused.

 **Wait! That must have been Sans' excuse! Take it back!** Chara suddenly lashed out, her realization hitting Frisk like a wall. Just as Papyrus was about to ask something, she began signing again.

'I'll have to apologize to them,' she lied. It made sense. Not just her excuse, but Sans'. He had probably threatened monster kid, or woven an even greater lie to keep Toriel at bay.

Of course there was no excuse for disappearing to the underground for two days.

'I was really down there two days?' The eggs were forgotten now, and she fully turned on the tall stool to face her friends.

"well we don't know when ya left, kiddo." Sans finally said something, carelessly shrugging in the process. It was ironic that he was the only one who knew. 'so two days is just average."

"But you basically were," Asgore sighed. "After the first day we figured out Monster Kid had been hiding a secret, and then he finally confessed that you were leaving to the underground." There was a moment of hesitation where Frisk was about to take the opportunity to sign when Asgore continued. "I feared you had run away from us. If we had done something wrong…"

Frisk couldn't help but smile. She did somehow manage to make it look more sad than triumphant, however. It was the perfect opportunity to change the subject. 'You haven't done anything wrong!' she protested. That was the truth. 'I would never run away, I love you all.'

Everyone smiled even wider at that, except Sans, whose grin faltered a tad. The subject change didn't go unnoticed by her mother though.

"Frisk….That still doesn't answer my...erm...first few questions. Why did you go there? And without telling anyone!?" She stopped herself this time before getting carried away.

 _Because a smiley trashbag dragged me down there,_ Frisk thought while glancing at Sans, who gave her that cheeky grin.

 **We were planning on going down there anyways, you know. And he did save us lots of time, of course.** She tried to talk at least a little sense into her friend. Of course Sans didn't deserve any thanks for it, but he did save them time.

 _I guess that's true. Though who knows how long we had that 'talk' for._

 **That's also true. Good point,** Chara responded.

Frisk glanced around, then began to sign a response to her mother. 'I don't know, I guess. I was thinking about the core, and who made it, and how it worked….and then I began thinking about the Underground...and the lab...and I guess something just inspired me to go down there. I didn't mean to be gone so long, and I had food and I know how to protect myself.' By the end of that her hands were sore and she rested them once again around her warm mug.

Toriel sighed. Asgore, whose paw was still on her shoulder, gave it a squeeze and smiled. "I suppose that makes sense, but why didn't you tell us? And why did you bring up Alphys' lab book? It is very personal to her, you know."

Frisk took a sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid sooth her sore throat. As she set the cup down, it was hard to hide the fact that her hands were starting to shake. _Chara...what do I say?_

 **That you didn't think it would take that long?** Chara suggested. Frisk could picture her friend shrugging, and she managed a smile before beginning to relay the idea.

 _Thanks. I appreciate the help._ Once again she owed her friend, and an excuse was formed. 'I didn't think it would take that long I guess. And I brought up the lab book for her. I had found it and got lots of answers on the core in the beginning before I had to stop reading.'

It seemed that was sufficient, for Asgore nodded. "Alright dear. We trust you, just don't do it again, and this won't go without punishment, I hate to say."

"WHY DON'T YOU FINISH YOUR EGGS AND THEN GO VISIT ALPHYS? I THINK SHE WANTED TO TALK TO YOU," Papyrus interjected. He offered Frisk a wink, and she smiled in response.

The punishment would be avoided for a while, at least!

Soon, with a full belly, Frisk was on her way to Alphys'. She had grabbed the papers with Gaster's logs and tucked them neatly in her pocket before saying goodbye and heading out. Chara didn't fail to notice, as she emerged to float beside Frisk, that Toriel was carefully watching her from the window.

Her and Asgore were talking, but Frisk wasn't sure where Papyrus and Sans went.

Not that it mattered, of course. Her thoughts were focused on Alphys, and what was to come. As she approached the house, her footsteps seemed to slow. They got heavier with each step, and Frisk couldn't help the feeling of dread that dragged her to a halt.

They needed Alphys' help, but she would have to confess most of her sins. And Alphys might not help and go along to reveal it to everybody else.

 _Chara I can't._

"You have to, Frisk." The ghost floated around in front of her friend, smiling warmly. "Just think of it this way, if we don't ask her help, everybody will figure out anyways. At least we'll have a chance if we tell!"

 _But why now. Why now? I...can't I wait longer...Saying it will make it...come true. And if she does tell then it will come faster._ The child was beginning to panic once again. The corner of her vision blurred, and she shut her eyes tight, which sadly blocked out Chara's warm smile.

"We won't have a chance if you don't do this. I'll be there, okay?" She comforted.

Frisk really needed a hug, but Chara couldn't provide those. Her fists were clenched and shaking, so she tried to picture warm arms wrapping around her frail body and protecting her. Asgore or Toriel. Papyrus or Undyne. Maybe even Mettaton or Alphys.

She pictured arms grasping her shoulders, and it felt so surprisingly real that her eyes shot open. She jumped back, surprised.

Alphys was standing there, a crooked grin on her face, and was pulling her hands back awkwardly. "H-hey...Frisk. You o-okay?" The stuttered phrase was even more nervous than usual for the dinosaur.

Chara was chuckling to herself, knowing that Frisk was trying not to glare at her. The shock of the scientist's sudden appearance had snapped her out of her fear. There was no going back now.

Instead of signing, Frisk managed a simple wave and a nervous, crooked smile that mirrored Alphys', who waved back. "D-did you...sleep well?"

Now her smile faded into a frown, and she stared down at the ground, her hands moving. 'We need to talk, Alphys.'

The reaction was as expected. No more nervous, stuttery monster. Just a serious one, who's maw was set in a firm line. She nodded and then turned on her heel and stalked inside, Frisk following behind.

Soon, without another word shared between the two, not even Chara and Frisk traded thoughts, they were seated in the living room, or anime dungeon as it had been dubbed. Alphys had some popcorn on the low coffee table, but Frisk wasn't relatively hungry at all.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke, and the first one to say anything was Frisk, which surprised Alphys.

"How much do you know?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse and not well-trained, but the question was easily understandable. Alphy's response was quick to come after she got over her initial bewilderment.

"I know enough." It was simple, and informed the human child that she wouldn't leave the house without relaying everything. The truth, not any more lies.

Despite her calm appearance on the outside, her heart was racing. She felt like dying inside, but it had to be done. "Is Undyne home?"

There was a moment of hesitation and nervousness. If Alphys knew as much as she claimed she did, then that question might be scary. A possible threat, even, but the dinosaur took a breath and shook her head. "No." Then she gestured to various papers, as well as the log book, that were set on the couch beside her. "I have plenty of questions."

"Ask away." The smile crept out of nowhere, and Frisk felt a sudden boost of determination.


	12. A Confession

**I will probably not be posting the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! I have an all weekend concert thing in a different city and all, so sorry. But I hope you all enjoy your breaks from whatever you might do!**

 **Wish me luck at my big music competition!**

 **Thanks once again to Poptart Kitten for me! And let me know if you're still enjoying my story, or if you see any typos! Loveiisss~**

* * *

"Frisk, why did you bring up my logbook?" Alphys wasn't wasting anytime with the first question that came out of her mouth. She had her hands resting in her lap upon the question's subject. It's worn surface looked even duller beneath her bright yellow claws.

The child seemed to hesitate. She consoled Chara, and together they came up with an adequate answer. "I'm not going to lie about it," she began, turning her head to scan the room. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone about it." Slowly she turned to meet the dinosaur's gaze. Her determined smile had faded and a serious demeanor filled the room.

Alphys knew she had to agree if she ever wanted to find out, so she reluctantly nodded, gripping the book tighter.

Frisk's smile returned, though it was lined with sadness. "I had come up with a theory about the core," she sighed, looking down. The two were afraid to meet each other's gaze. "And I knew the only way to figure out was to go into the underground. I found your logbook and," the papers she had set on the coffee table suddenly became of interest to Alphys, "those."

"Why did you need to know about the core? Why not ask me, and what are those papers?" The questions came quickly once again.

Frisk hesitated once again as well.

 **Should I let you do the talking, Frisk?** Chara asked, trying to help.

 _Yes. This is my fault, and I should solve it. Thank you._ The response in her head was much quicker than the one she began to speak of.

"I needed to know about the core because of the memories, Alphys. I know you know what I'm talking about. If you hadn't figured it out already, you were close." Sure enough her interrogator's head had snapped up. "I didn't ask you because I can't have everybody know. I hate the fact that you have figured everything out, Alphys. And those papers are the logs of scientist D.W. Gaster. I wrote everything he recorded down."

Alphys had gone pale, and was staring with wide eyes at Frisk. The answers had been cold and calculated, which sent fear shooting down her tail. If her theory was correct, and it was beginning to sound more so by the minute, then this should be terrifying. It was, actually, but she managed to take a deep breath. "Frisk….what were you trying to hide….I think I know...but I don't want to believe it. All of the data I have points to it...please...tell me it wasn't…."

"It was me, Alphys." They locked gazes finally, and Alphys looked extremely worried. Frisk was completely neutral, her tone dark and serious. After a moment, Alphy's eyes narrowed, and she frowned.

"It was me who reset the timelines," Frisk continued. "It's not as simple as that, of course. My story is…." for the first time, her voice began to waver again. She took on the appearance of an innocent child. Chara tried to comfort her, but it was Alphys who helped most.

"I promise I won't tell, Frisk."

That was enough to spur the human onwards.

"I guess I have to start somewhere near the beginning," she sighed, not wanting to disclose anything before the Underground. "I'll just start when I fell into the hole, if that makes sense." Alphys nodded when Frisk paused, offering her a smile as reassuring as she could manage, which wasn't much.

"I was scared. I...I…." Her face fell. "Sorry...I'm trying, Alphys. But when i fell, there was a flower I met. He seemed so nice the first time. I was ready to cry because….I...I was not used to kindness. I was hurt all of my life before that, and this new world with a talking flower that actually showed kindness was so bewildering. But...then he tried to kill me."

Alphys felt a pang of sadness as Frisk drew a shaky breath, but she didn't have much time to process it before the story went on.

"But before he could, someone saved me. Toriel...when I first met her...I was so scared. But she was nice. I still couldn't believe it, though. Someone actually being nice to me. She told me to spare monsters, but the flower told me it was 'Kill or be killed' I didn't know what to believe."

"As I went on through the ruins, she taught and guided me, but when the first monster attacked, I didn't know what to do. It was trying to hurt me, like the flower had, and in a fit of panic I killed it. Toriel seemed scared, and she tried to comfort me. She explained I could spare monsters, and from that moment on I began to experience kindness."

"Some monsters still hurt me, but Toriel would help me spare them anyways. Everything was okay...until I...wanted to leave. I don't know what it was….but, of course I didn't want to go home, I hated that place, but I couldn't stand being stuck in the Ruins with Toriel...so I asked to leave. One thing led to the other, and….she hurt me."

Alphys had been fairly calm until this point, but she suddenly found herself in disbelief. Toriel would never hurt a child, would she?

"In an attempt to keep me in the ruins...Toriel hurt me. She actually...Toriel killed me…" Frisk gasped, shutting her eyes. She hated the memory, and it was coming back to haunt her.

It didn't make sense to Alphys at all. She was conflicted, but tried her best to trust the story, despite whatever doubts she had. Her friend was finally telling the truth, so she decided to at least give her a chance.

Frisk didn't open her eyes, but turned her face downwards. Her expression was tense. She opened her mouth to speak but it took a few moments for her voice to return before she hurried to get it over with.

"That was the first time I reset. I had been touching those yellow sparks that you described in the logbook, and when I died I went back to the most recent one. Then I relieved that whole scene in a daze, before she killed me again. Slowly I began to figure out what was happening, and that she wasn't remembering. I tried to save her...but each time I died. I wasn't good enough...eventually it got to the point where I found myself back at the underground entrance, soon facing Flowey again."

Her face paled a little more, Alphys couldn't help but note. She wanted to encourage her, but she needed comfort herself to prevent any reckless decisions. Her voice was stuck in her throat and she couldn't physically bring herself to speak, even if she wanted to.

"Toriel saved me once again, but I lived in fear of her and all other monsters...and I began killing them all to save myself. And then when I faced her again, fear gripped my heart….and somehow it ended with her dead instead. She faded into dust…."

Frisk was beginning to cry, but she managed to hold it in. Her heart was racing faster than she ever had. "But there is something I haven't confessed." She opened her eyes, meeting Alphys' of their eyes had hints of tears and showed sorrow.

It took a deep breath to push herself to continue. "I had a friend, a ghost that had been accompanying me. She helped me, and we quickly became good friends. This ghost was Chara Dreemur, who I somehow resurrected with my determination when I fell."

There was a long silence as she gulped for air. "We have been connected, and have a mental bond. She can float around in her ghostly form and explore, or she can conjoin with my mind and see from my perspective…"

"She...can?" Alphys finally interjected, wringing her claws together. "Present?"

"She's with me now, was with me then...when I was broken and lost. At the beginning, Chara was too weak to stop my frightened actions...but...you do know the effect LOVE has, don't you?"

Alphys nodded nervously. She knew exactly what effect LOVE had, and it had been her only hope that Frisk wasn't a killer. Her breathing hitched and she tensed, staring intently at the girl. It seemed she was about to gain the answer she wanted for so long, but now that it was going to happen fear couldn't help but take root.

"Well...instead of me suffering from the drug of LOVE, though I did taste it, she somehow ended up with it all. As Chara began to grow strong enough to control me through the various timelines, her want to stop it began to waver. When she was strong enough, the LV controlled her mind and she began to control me."

She had stopped moving and talking for a moment, exchanging a quick word with Chara.

 _You're sure it's okay?_

 **Positive. I think Alphys has been taking everything really well, Frisk. You got this!** The encouragement may have been cheesy, but it was definitely needed.

"At the beginning of each timeline she would regret it all, but then I would be in control and slipping up and killing more, so she began to want to kill again. She always wanted to kill after her first taste of LOVE. It's a drug, and she began to become addicted to it."

"Eventually we made it through an entire timeline. I had given up my control completely, not even caring anymore. Through this ordeal I had begun to realize what was happening, but I could no longer stop it. We made it to Sans…." she paused.

Alphys shook her head in confusion. "Sans?"

"Yes, Alphys. Sans has killed me more times then I've been killed by anyone else-" her breathing was speeding up at the memory, and she clenched her fists. "I-I….I...tried to spare him...when I could...Chara didn't want me too,...but I tried...and then...he killed me again. Because Sans remembered. He remembered all of the resets and everybody I had killed and...He watched me continue to be killed…"

Flashbacks began to make their rounds in her head, and her hands were shaking.

"The only time I experienced love was from Toriel...and Papyrus. Everybody else instantly hated me, and I couldn't stop it. But after Sans killed me that time...I reset again." She remembered that reset. It had been filled with so much regret, but yet love.

"I could no longer take it, Alphys. And somehow I managed to live through a route where I experienced love. Me and Chara began to recover from the effects of the drug...and I'm happy here. But...I'm…" I don't deserve it, she wanted to say, but her voice failed her.

She couldn't speak any more. Her whole speech had been leading up to this moment, and she suddenly filled with panic .Alphys was immediately by her side, gripping her friend's shoulder as comfort.

Her own claws were shaking, but she tightened her grasp to make it stop. She had to show strength for her friend. It hurt Frisk a little bit, honestly, but kept her world from closing in around her as it had been threatening too.

"I killed you all. And they killed me…" she gasped, the words become a reality as she spoke the,. "and every time I look at them I see that. There is no way I can just focus on the happiness. Alphys I hate myself." She finally admitted, burying her face in her hands. "And don't pity me, please. The only reason I haven't reset again is because you are happy...and that spurs me forwards. But once everybody remembers...then…t-then..." She shrugged, laughing carelessly as tears began to pour down her face.

Aphys patted her shoulder now, and she couldn't help her hands from shaking. The contact between her and the child was cold however, and she stood awkwardly, brushing off her skirt. She couldn't help the ice between them."Frisk…" She couldn't bear to turn and look at the child, who had gone dead silent. "I won't tell. But I cannot promise they won't figure out. It would be better if you told them yourself."

She took a step away, scooping up the lab book. "And just so you know, you can't stop it. The core, and the memories. We will continue to be haunted by the terrible things you have done. Me? I have nightmares of watching on camera each time you kill Undyne, and each time she kills you. I can't imagine what she feels about actually being there. I'm tormented from a distance."

She was willing to forgive the child, of course, but not yet. She still had to process the whole story for herself, and understand it all. She couldn't make any rash decisions without knowing the full story, and now that she did, it was hard to know what to think.

It would be much easier to forgive her with the guidance of friends, but due to her promise she couldn't. There was no one she could ask for advice, and already could feel the kid's burden sliding onto her own shoulders.

"I understand the effects of LV, and you might have been younger then, Frisk, but that doesn't excuse why you are still lying to us now."

There was dead silence, and then a low chuckle.

Frisk began to laugh once again, turning her face upwards. "You're one to speak, Alphys. You lied. You know why you lied. If they figure out I don't know how I'll react." Her laughing seemed to take a dark turn, and her smile was broken. Alphys did make the mistake of turning around, and that face haunted her.

It also roused a spark of anger.

"I've wanted to die for so long. But I haven't for Chara...and dieing would simply lead to another reset. Got it? Don't tell. It's already heard enough to know I'm living with friends I don't deserve. If they know, how will they react? Their innocent child is a murderer? Heh."

She was beginning to go delirious, and Chara was screaming at her. **Get yourself together! Frisk! Focus! PLEASE!** The only reason Frisk began trying to listen was because it sounded like Chara was crying.

Alphys was another matter. She was glaring down at the depressingly hysterical child, her mouth drawn in a thin line, though she looked about to cry and explode at the same time. All of the right buttons had just been pushed. "I regret lying, Frisk. But I came clean, and it helped me. Don't miss your last chance to be honest with them."

With that, she grabbed the child's hand and pulled her up, not letting go as they walked to the door together. Frisk was still smiling, and tears still ran down her face.

Alphys was reaching for the door knob, prepared to throw the kid out in her current mindset, when the handle was ripped from her claws. She jumped back, initially startled, until she felt Frisk squeeze her hand. She became serious once again, looking up at Undyne, who stood there with a rather shocked expression.

"What is said in the anime dungeon stays in the anime dungeon," she quoted.

Undyne's mouth fell open and little bit, and she looked down at Frisk, feeling uneasy. "Does the kid want me to help her home?" The question came out of nowhere in her befuddlement.

Frisk shook her head, but Alphys nodded. "We don't want her running away again of course," came the cold reply. As she said that, Frisk yanked her hand away and ran. She didn't get far, and was immediately scooped up onto the Fish's shoulders.

"Naw, Punk, we're going for a walk, yeah?" She waved to Alphys, who managed a smile in return, before shutting the door behind her and turning on her heels. Frisk was hugging her head tightly, her body convulsing as she began to sob.

They were silent sobs, but she knew it wasn't the kid gagging because of the tears she felt land on her red hair. They walked for a little bit, Undyne didn't care to take her home at the time, and despite feeling especially uncomfortable, she wanted to be there for her bestie.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The response was a shake of the head, which Undyne could feel more than see considering the kid was on her shoulders.

Undyne sighed. She stopped walking, staring forward at the sidewalk in front of her. Toriel and Asgore's house was just around the corner, and if she passed it again it would be her second time. She had just walked around the block for the sake of the kid.

Honestly it was beginning to annoy her, so she just stood there. Frisk had stopped shaking as much, but remained silent. Eventually the fish got impatient and leaned forward, which drew a frightened reaction from the kid, but Undyne knew what she was doing.

She reached up, letting go of Frisk's legs before picking her up, setting her gently down in front of her. The fish smiled, reaching around and grasping Frisk's hand before turning her around.

Frisk was now facing her, but she wouldn't look up, and continued to avoid her gaze. Undyne sighed once again. Curiosity was killing her, and she knew Alphys wouldn't tell what had happened, but Frisk might.

Alphys hated secrets, but when they weren't her own she knew to keep them like how she used to keep the ones in her past.

Slowly she knelt down, resting one hand on her knee and using the other to lift the punk's chin up. She was smiling, though she wasn't good at making it look nice, but her eyes relayed the warmth.

Frisk sniffled, scanning Undyne's face. She still wouldn't meet her gaze, and silently blamed it on her blurred, teary vision, even when she knew it was her own guilt. That darkness was plaguing her, and Chara wasn't much help.

Both were feeling especially broken after the whole story was relayed, and Frisk felt her burden increase.

"Frisk."

Undyne's voice was calming, and she made the mistake of looking into her eyes. It froze her to the core, and she gulped, unable to look away. The only movement she found herself able to make was when she blinked away any more tears that tried to fall.

"What happened?" Undyne was gorgeous, Frisk realized, when she smiled. As she asked that question she had tilted her head to the side, her red hair falling to the side a bit.

"You can tell me. I know Alphys would never mean to hurt you. I promise not to tell!" She added a bit of a laugh to the end of her phrase, trying to sound lighthearted. There was something nagging her. Things seemed fishy and weird. Sure, seeing the kid crying was disorienting enough, but after those nightmares it left her with a lack of empathy.

She couldn't help but feel that whatever had happened Frisk deserved it, and she hated that simple idea.

She didn't know where anything was coming from anymore, so Undyne ended up simply trying to focus on Frisk, who was obviously distressed.

She got paler by the second, and began to shake. Even with her hand just holding Frisk's chin she could feel the timid vibrations. "Frisk? It's okay!" Fear began to replace whatever confusion she had felt before as the kid began to melt.

Frisk was full out sobbing now, and she finally managed to tear her gaze away from Undyne's clenching her shaking fists again. Soon they were entwined in a hug, and Frisk let her tears roll out onto her friend's leather jacket, and they soon landed on the ground.

She didn't deserve any of this.

Chara wasn't saying anything, she too was panicking, and Frisk was unable to control herself and she simply could not stop shaking. Her world was spinning out of order, and she clung onto Undyne for her life as pain shot through her tense form.

Everything began to hurt even more, her sore limbs extensively so. She was petrified and her legs began to fail, though her arms remained rigid around Undyne's neck. Her sobs slowly turned into a wail as everything continued to spin.

Undyne was confused as hell, but held on tightly to the violently shaking child.


	13. Nicecream

**I turned to my friend the other day and went "Frick I've got to write another chapter!" To say the least, I've enjoyed not writing it this past week, but now I have stuff to do! Don't worry, I'll try not to abandon y'all!**

 **This was originally going to end up being 2000 words, but I reached 4000. Yay! I didn't have too much time to rewrite anything, so if anybody sees something that needs a little update please let me know! Thank you, and I hope everybody enjoyed their Thanksgivings at least a little!**

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They stood in that embrace for a long moment. Frisk had eventually calmed down, but wasn't any less frightened. Undyne wasn't any less confused on the other half of the hug.

People were beginning to notice them. The cold weather wasn't stopping any monster, or human, from getting to work on winterizing their things. It was that perfect time of the year, the transition between Summer and Winter, to prepare for the latter.

Asgore had already taken care of his garden.

Frisk, although her hands were still shaking, eventually lessened her grip on the smooth leather jacket her friend wore. She became more aware of their surroundings and the monsters that strolled about. There weren't too many, but it was enough to make her flush from embarrassment.

Undyne didn't fail to notice the motion, and she slowly stood, untangling herself from Frisk and patting the child on her head. "Hey Punk, it's cool. Let's just say you tripped and fell, huh?" She reached down a scaled hand and took the unsteady one in her own.

Frisk managed a small smile in return, her grip tightening. The blow of everything that had just happened was still upon her, and her legs weak from the idea of it. She was thankful for the distraction and help Undyne was providing.

The fish glanced down at her, concerned, but still smiling. "You know that icecream you wanted to get?"

Frisk was about to shake her head, not recalling such a thing, but nodded instead at the last second. Chara was beginning to recover too, and helped save her from any confusion. **Sans probably made another excuse for us.**

"Why don't we go get some now? 'Cept just you and me. Would you like that?" She offered, recieving a nod as an answer.. "Off we go then!" Was the jovial response before she marched onward, bringing Frisk with here.

There was a broken chuckle from the teenager, who followed behind with her shaking hand intertwined in her friend's. Despite everything, the comfort from Undyne filled her with determination, and put a small smile on her face.

It was small, but enough. Undyne noticed it as well, and the fact that she was able to be there for Frisk was encouraging.

The walk was short and brisk. The cold air was stinging at Frisk's cheeks, and she constantly wiped her eyes, knowing well enough that they were red and puffy. The tears had long dried away from the breeze, and she at least felt more awake.

Undyne had actually passed the ice cream shop, which was confusing for a bit, until they reached the Nice Cream store. It was a longer walk, but the mere idea of the stuff was exciting. She smiled down at Frisk, who was much bubblier than before, and the two entered the quaint little store. For an icecream shop, it was rather warm.

It had a cute checkered floor with and icy blue tile instead of black. The colors were all similar to the Nice cream man's old cart, just transformed into a cute little building. He had been much more successful on the surface than underground.

Nonetheless, successful or not, Frisk had always liked his ice cream. She had perked up immediately upon entering the store, and although she didn't let go of Undyne's hand, she dragged the fish up to the counter. The nice cream man had livened up a bit too, and he smiled down at the child. "You want some Nicecream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!" His catchy jingle got a smile from both of them, and Frisk hastily nodded.

Undyne chose her flavor, coffee, and Frisk picked some chocolate for both her and Chara's sake. They had soon payed, but instead of sitting down in the classy shop to enjoy it, they decided to stroll towards the park. It was cold anyways, and the treat would last longer.

Hand in hand, they enjoyed the cool breeze. Frisk's wrapper complimented her non-existent claws, much to Undyne's enjoyment, and the Nicecream itself made her feel warm, though it was cold. She had shared the taste of it with Chara, which brightened the ghost up by a mile because it was chocolate, her favorite.

They walked in silence for a while, just casually strolling in circles around the gorgeous park, when Undyne threw a different path in their waltz. Frisk was a bit annoyed, not really wanting to go somewhere else, but followed anyway. They walked down a small side trail to a little bench that was surrounded by trees on almost all fronts. There was one opening in the forest that stretched out and showed all of the changing colors, and let Mt. Ebott peek through. Frisk tore her gaze away from the looming mountain as they sat down.

Undyne still hadn't spoke, and the teenager wasn't planning on it. She was content finishing off her Nicecream, enjoying the bubbly feeling and her conversation with Chara when her friend finally did speak, albeit reluctantly.

"Frisk?" She questioned, one hand in her lap and the small amount of nicecream suspended in her other. "I'll get straight to the point…"

That was worrying.

"I want to know why you were crying. I know Alphys hinted that I wasn't supposed to ask...but you were straight out panicking back there...I'm worried about you! First you run away, come back with Alphy's log book, which you probably read, and then when you talk with my wife you come back in tears!"

There was no response from Frisk, who was staring down at her lap. She was extremely silent, not even moving, with a dark expression upon her face. Chara had gone quiet in her head as well, hiding behind the walls a little bit.

"I...have theories. And you don't have to tell me...but does it have to do with the nightmares?" The teen started, her gaze darting to meet Undyne's with a fearful look. The fish couldn't hold back a small scoff. "I'm not a fool. I've been having nightmares about you kid. They are terrifying, and Alphys had them too. I don't think it's a coincidence...and everybody else is beginning to act weird around you. I'm suspecting that they are getting them to, and I want to know why?"

Frisk had looked away, her gaze locking onto the mountain despite her fear of it. Her mouth opened a couple times, but Undyne hadn't been finished, so when she did there was this drawn out pause before she responded. Her voice cracked at first.

"I've been having nightmares ever since we came up from the Underground, and even before then…" she choked. _It's the truth. I'm avoiding her questions but it's the truth. I'm doing good so far, right?_

Chara poked back in a little. **Yeah. That was good, keep your cool, Frisk. Finish that icecream if it helps.**

Frisk did just that, nibbling at it a little bit while Undyne pondered over her response.

"So you've had nightmares about….?"

"E...everything…" She was now struggling to tell the truth, just like that.

"What do you mean by that?" Undyne questioned, staring down at the kid, who had pulled into herself like a turtle.

"Well explain to me what you have nightmares about," she countered, coming up with a response in her head as things progressed. It would be as much truth as she could muster without revealing too much.

Undyne furrowed her brows, but answered nonetheless. "About you killing me mostly, and me killing you. Each time is a little different...and you get better at avoiding me."

"I have that from my perspective...but with everybody.." Frisk coughed, turning her head to the side before eating another bite of Nicecream. It wasn't giving her a warm and bubbly feeling now; her dread was too overpowering.

She was dumbfounded, trying to imagine that. Her eyes narrowed, and she once again debated the cause of these. Her mind was running ahead of her words, so she had to pause to try and gather most of her thoughts into one sentence. "Why…? And...why have you had them longer? I can barely deal with these...have you told anyone?"

Frisk hated all of the questions. She wanted to curl up into a ball and die, but that would only draw more suspicion. "I…" A lie did end up tumbling out of her mouth. "Don't really know? And….I haven't really told anyone...but…" she paused, glancing at Undyne.

"But what, punk?"

"Sans knows?" Undyne seemed a bit bewildered. Frisk nodded in response, and got an angry glare that frightened her a lot. "You told Sans and not me? Your bestie? Punk, why? We would have solved this along time ago!" Things were getting heated. The Nicecream was long forgotten, and Undyne was getting angry.

Frisk hurried to reassure her. "I never…" There was a pause and she coughed softly, her throat getting scratchy again. "I never told anyone, I already said. Me and Sans sleep in two rooms right next to eachother…." she sighed, shaking her head.

"Yes...but...how did he know?" Undyne was beginning to figure it out and she didn't like what her mind was telling her.

There was a nervous cough this time. "At first it was hard to keep...screams contained…"

"Oh my God...Frisk…" Undyne was dumbfounded. She felt guilty for not realizing sooner, and she felt pity for her friend. She also had another torrent of questions that wanted to break free. In her small panic she ended up asking a pointless question, with no real value at all. "Why are you talking…?"

Frisk glanced at her, tilting her head questioningly. "Because you asked a question I can't answer with my hands...and I'm holding nicecream…" The stuff was still magically intact, she realized, taking another nibble. It was still cold too, and she began to become aware of the actual temperature outside. It was freezing, and she immediately shivered in response.

Undyne didn't notice the small detail. She had let her nicecream fall to the ground in carelessness, and leaned forward on the bench with her elbows on her knees. Her breathing was unsteady, Frisk didn't fail to notice with a hint of concern.

"You don't know why the nightmares happen?"

Frisk hesitated, looking at the mountain again. "No."

Undyne followed her gaze suspiciously, doubts clouding her mind. She wasn't sure what to believe now. Everything Frisk had admitted seemed truthful until this point. It seemed to be falling apart. In fact the kid seemed to be falling apart, she realized with a bit of angst.

The kid's hands were shaking, and her eyes constantly darting around. Her breathing was a bit quicker, and in her mind the lie was going crazy. She was battling against Chara.

 _I lied Chara!_

 **You had to, Frisk! It's okay!** Chara had protested, mentally slapping her friend. **Wake up! Don't freak out or else Undyne is going to get suspicious.**

 _She already is suspicious! Alphys warned me not to lie again, and I've been trying….but I can't tell Undyne! If she figures out though...another lie will hurt our relationship even more!_ Frisk was making some good points.

Chara sighed, trying to keep her own thoughts and feelings to herself. She didn't want Frisk knowing about some vicious retorts. Frisk's relationship would be ruined anyways, another lie wouldn't matter. The ghost didn't respond, just hiding back in a corner.

Frisk was about to call out for her when Undyne's voice brought her back to reality.

"Punk…" she muttered, before leaving it at that. She wasn't sure what to say or ask next. Maybe there wasn't anything to question, and she should just let the kid be. It was possible that Frisk was relying to protect her, and keep her friends safe. And that's why Alphys wasn't relaying any information either, so far, because they wanted to protect her from some dark truth.

Frisk had been watching her in silence, her large, reddish brown eyes wide and unblinking.

"Let's take you home, alright? I'm sure Tori is worried for her child." Undyne stood, unconsciously avoiding the icecream, and stepped around the bench. Did Toriel know her child was having nightmares? Was Toriel having nightmares like she had been assuming?

The questions weren't pleasant. Any questions were not, and she was determined to get answers one way or another. Frisk wasn't helping, so Alphys would have to fess up.

With her mouth in a thin line, she held out her hand to Frisk. The gesture was received and she clutched a small, cold, shaking hand of her friend. They were still friends, after all. She smiled a little, because nothing would change that.

Or so she thought.

And think she did, the entire way home. The walk was short because her mind was focused on other things. She never even noticed the tears rolling down Frisk's cheek and partially freezing on her face.

Frisk was sure Undyne didn't trust her now. It only scared her more about what the overall reaction would be if she figured out the things she had done. They parted silently, with Undyne patting her head blindly before turning on her heel and hurrying away, wanting to interrogate Alphys.

It left Frisk in the cold, drying her tears, before slowly making her way inside. She put a smile on her face, though a little bit of sadness showed through. Toriel and Asgore were in the kitchen, quietly conversing, only to pause when they saw their child.

Asgore waved and smiled, but Tori immediately noticed something was off. She smiled warmly, "How did it go, my child?"

Frisk detected that mothering tone of voice and let out a sigh, glancing down at the ground. 'She was a bit mad at me, but it went pretty well despite that,' she signed. Then, with a smile suddenly growing, 'And Undyne took me out for Nicecream!'

Asgore chuckle softly. "I'm sorry to hear Alphys was angry, but sounds like you had fun anyways!" Frisk nodded, and then ran into the kitchen to give both her parents a hug. It was as genuine as she could get, and she made a heart with her hands as well to communicate a special message.

They both signed it back with mischievous giggles before Frisk headed up to her room.

 **I'll never get over how good at acting you have gotten. Or how silly mom and dad are.**

 _I won't either. For either of those._

Undyne was at her house in an instant, marching moment the door slammed shut behind her, Alphys knew something was up. She had assumed Frisk decided to confess things, and turned around at her desk to meet her girlfriend.

She had thought that Undyne would be fuming mad or simply distraught, but despite the loud entrance she looked relatively calm, just extremely confused. Alphys raised an eyebrow, slowing pulling herself out of her chair. They met each other's gazes for a moment, and Alphys was about to speak when Undyne lunged forward.

She stood extremely close, looking down at her wife. "Alphys what the hell." It was a statement, not a question, and delivered as such.

Her before calmness had faded a bit, and Alphys looked away. "W-what...do you mean?"

"You know exactly what the hell I mean!" She retorted, turning on her heel and talking a couple steps away. She ran her hand through her bangs, her shoulders drooping as she sighed. "Frisk was sobbing! I took her out for nicecream and then she confessed to having nightmares as well, but for a much longer period of time! I was asking a lot of questions and I know she was telling the truth." There was a pause, and then Undyne turned around to face Alphys. "I know she was truthful because the last answer was a lie."

Alphys had started wringing her hands together nervously. She had promised not to tell, but it was already getting hard. It could ruin her own relationship with Undyne, while if she told it would ruin her wife's relationship with Frisk. "What...question did she lie to?"

"I asked her if she knew what was happening. She said no." Undyne had taken a deep breath and released it, her shoulders falling again. Her hands were on her hips, and she watched Alphys carefully.

The dinosaur cursed under her breath, looking to the side. "It's her choice not to tell you...Undyne. I was amazed she confessed things to me, but it's only b-because I figured them out on my own."

"I think I am starting to figure some things out." Undyne took a step forward, glaring. "This secret, if my suspicions are right, could endanger other monsters, correct?"

Alphys reluctantly nodded.

"Then it shouldn't be a secret. If it endangers others by not knowing, then what other choice is there to let me know? So I can be aware of any danger?!" Undyne had taken Alphy's hands in her own, studying her carefully.

"It could endanger us by not knowing….but I'm afraid the outcome will be worse if any rash decisions are taken…"

"How could it be worse?!" Undyne was definitely close to at least figuring out part of the story. She had been realizing more that the nightmares could not be a coincidence, and eventually realized they had to be memories. She just didn't know from where, because she didn't remember them. Or she was just beginning to remember them.

"Undyne...I-I…" Alphys couldn't look her in the eyes, and stared down at their intertwined hands. "I promised Frisk I wouldn't tell. If anyone tells you, it has to be her."

"They are memories, aren't they." The words came from the darkest place in her mind, but as she spoke them it seemed to become more true. The nightmares flashed in her head, indescribably real. She had just gotten over Frisk's face and laugh morphing into something wicked, but that was terrifying to recall.

Alphys didn't respond.

"Oh my God…." Undyne released her wife's hands taken a step back. "Oh. My. God...but how?! How are they memories!? I can't remember them…"

"It's the process of you remembering them…" Alphys finally confessed. She wasn't giving anything away, but felt obliged to help Undyne, though it might not benefit Frisk.

"Process of remembering them?! Oh my god. What the actual hell?!" Undyne had started pacing, her hands going everywhere. She threw them in the air, held them behind her back, buried her face in them, and even cracked her knuckles, unsure of how to react."Wait...but Frisk has been having them longer…." The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she wheeled around to face Alphys, her expression morphing into one of anger. "She knew! Frisk knew, and she didn't tell us!?"

Alphys could only nod, unable to speak. Her girlfriend was on the verge of exploding, and that was terrifying.

"Wait…" Undyne paused, realization once again dawning upon her. Just like that, Alphys knew she had gotten it. "Frisk is in all of my nightmares...killing me...or me killing her. If these are memories…." Her breathing had hitched, and her scales looked a little pale. "Oh...my...Oh HELL no! That kid has some SERIOUS EXPLAINING TO DO!"

Just like that, it happened. Undyne exploded into a fury. She grabbed Alphys' hand and dragged her out of their house, marching over to Toriel's. There was no time to struggle and fight her, Alphys realized as she hurried along behind Undyne.

In reality the fish's' reaction probably was justified.

They reached the front door of Tori's and Undyne whirled around, glaring at Alphys. "And you knew too."

"I promised not to t-tell…." She had seemed calm, but the stutter at the end of her statement revealed it all. Undyne paused, managing a small smile.

"Go get Mettaton and Papyrus. I don't care what they are doing. Frisk is going to answer some serious questions." With that they parted, Alphys hurrying to the couple's house, and Undyne marching into Toriels.

Asgore knew something was off, and was about to ask when Undyne slammed the door behind her. She was definitely angry. Toriel had been reading a book, and her head snapped up at the loud sound, a moment of panic running through her until she saw it was Undyne. Then it returned when she realized how pissed of the fish looked, and that she wasn't registering anything.

Asgore tilted his head. "Undyne, what's wrong?"

In response, she halted in her footsteps. She slowly turned to face him, a wicked sneer upon it her fron. He dropped his cup out of surprise, and even fear. "You know those nightmares?" She hissed.

Toriel and Asgore exchanged glances. "You had them too?" Toriel questioned, closing her book. She stood from her chair and moved over to her husband, intertwining her hand with his under the counter.

Undyne didn't notice it, but at this rate it looked like she wouldn't care. "Yeah. Here, let me get your child to come and do some explaining." Her voice was sour and bitter, and it seemed like she was struggling to keep it down. Toriel and Asgore exchanged glances again but when they looked back Undyne was already marching up the stairs.

They were about to call out in confusion, but she was already to their child's door.

It was thrown open by Undyne and after the resulting slam everything went quiet. Frisk was standing there, her parents couldn't see her face, but it was obvious she was shaking all over. Toriel felt a pang of worry, accompanied by anger. Undyne had no right to terrify them all like that.

She would have called out if there wasn't confusion accompanying it all.

"FRISK!" Undyne practically shouted. No, she did shout. Scream even, and Frisk recoiled in fear. She felt a moment of humanity for once and at tried to seem a little more civilized, although she was seething. "Punk, You've got some explaining to do."

Sans was in his room, and poked his head out at the commotion. When he saw Undyne there and heard the words that left her, he couldn't help but enjoy the grin upon his face just a little bit more. He teleported to the living room on a couch, getting comfortable. He couldn't wait for this whole ordeal to be over.

Frisk, on the other hand, wanted to die. She wanted to curl up into a corner and die and sob her soul away. But she couldn't die, not now. She felt betrayal on the part of Alphys, who was just entering the house with Papyrus and Mettaton, and utter terror from Undyne, who towered above her like a pillar of fire.

She didn't even bother speaking or signing, but just looked down at her shaking hands before hugging herself and nodding. Undyne's frown deepened, and she held out her hand. Frisk was fearful, but took it anyways, only to receive an almost painful jerk.

And then, just like that, she was pulled down the stairs to the living room where everyone was waiting. Undyne felt her friend's shaking hand, but didn't care at the moment. She let go as soon as she reached a seat and then plopped down next to Alphys, leaving Frisk standing.

Frisk, on the verge of a panic attack, tried to move. She couldn't though, her limbs felt like butter, and waves of pain rooted her too the spot. She just stood there awkwardly and focused on Chara, who was trying to calm her down. To say it would be okay.

 _Did you see Undyne?! DID YOU SEE UNDYNE?! Imagine how she will react when I actually tell her?!_ The teen retorted back.

Chara tried her very best to comfort. **No, we don't know that. If you actually explain things they will probably take it well.**

 _Stop lying to me._

 **I'm trying to make you see that there are other options then flat out rejection! You have hope!**

Frisk didn't respond, but Chara was right. There was a little hope yet, and that filled her with enough determination to sit down. Toriel was sitting with Asgore on the couch, so Frisk got her favorite chair. It was cushiony and warm from her mother.

That was a little comforting.


	14. Papyrus' First Kill

**I'm writing this to the future me. (This is before I started writing) You freaking started writing on Monday little twerp I hope you finished your essay, due on Tuesday, and somehow managed to make this look good. It's a suspenseful chapter!**

 **(This is me after writing) Haha totalllyy nailed it. Not sure how good I did for suspense, but I really hope guys get the feels here!**

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It was one of those moments, Frisk realized. Everybody had gone silent, so many questions raised by that single statement from the irritated fish. Mettaton and Papyrus were the only two who hadn't realized others were having nightmares, so they naturally questioned this first.

Exchanging a glance with Papyrus, Mettaton relayed the question. "The nightmares…so you are having them too?" His voice was a bit off, loosing it's natural confidence, and that didn't help Frisk's unease at all. "All of you? Do you know what they mean?"

Toriel and Asgore exchanged glances this time before shaking their heads while Undyne sunk back into her chair, still looking furious. Sans was the one who answered, a smirk growing on his face. "why dontcha ask the kiddo herself?" He turned his cold gaze to her, and she wanted to disappear right there as everybody else followed.

Undyne backed him up, much to the chagrin, though not surprise, of Frisk. "Yeah, punk. Why don't you tell us what they are?"

There was an extremely long break before she could managed to speak. Running different words through her mind repeatedly, she was unable to come up with a suitable phrase. She couldn't even come up with a single word that seemed adequate, even though she tried several times. Her mouth opened on occasion, only for her to shut it as nervousness took control. It was only because of a comforting gaze from Chara, who hovered nearby, that she managed to mutter something.

"W-what...were they about…." she coughed up. Her words were tangled together, and she had to speak slowly, though it caused her voice to have a strange vibrato from her unnatural shaking. Nobody responded, though they shifted and exchanged glances, so she tried to clarify. "The...the nightmares...what were they...t-they…." She held back a painful sob. "About…."

Papyrus was the first to speak, keeping his voice low. "THEY WERE ABOUT YOU, FRISK."

The human closed her eyes, pulling her knees up and hugging them.

"What about...me?" she inquired, though knowing full well what they were about.

Asgore was choked up remembering them, but he managed to respond this time. "Me and Toriel's had to do with….murdering. It started with us killing you, and then you doing the same...to us." He coughed, looking down at his clenched paws as others did the same.

"Ours did as well," both Undyne and Mettaton explained at the same time. They exchanged nervous glances, though the fish's was still laced with anger.

Frisk nodded. "I know…" she muttered, finally mustering enough courage to look up. Seeing everyone's downcast appearances broke her just a little more, and she was forced to glance at Chara for support. The ghost, who had been observing the whole time, smiled warmly and sent the little confidence she had over to Frisk.

It was enough. "What do you want to know? Do you just want me to...talk...or answer questions...or…?" She was still hesitant, of course, but it was too late to go back.

Alphys decided to choose. "Just tell the whole story, Frisk. It will be easier." She glanced around, noticing a couple nods from others, and then nodded herself.

"At the beginning?"

Alphys watched Frisk curiously, knowing the child was stalling. She met her gaze, offering a small smile, and nodded in encouragement.

"Ok…" she muttered, still hugging her knees. They were there to provide some sort of protection from the others and a sort of wall. She could hide her face too if they reacted as bad as she figured they would.

Chara hovered to sit down, floating just an inch above the couch arm. It was either that or float in it, and that was an uncomfortable feeling. "How much do you want to tell?" She questioned.

 _I really should tell it all...it might help my case…._ Frisk answered, her thoughts weak and scattered. Chara just barely made out the message, but nodded.

"Do what you can. I'll be here." She offered a dazzling smile, then followed Frisk's gaze to the monsters, who were waiting patiently.

Even Undyne was calming down enough to see the fright in her friend's eyes. They were still friends, after all, and she didn't need to be seen as anything worse.

Frisk coughed a couple times and then began, summing the story up as well as she could. "When I first fell into the underground it was a miracle I had survived. In all reality, I should not have, and even afterwards I thought I was in some sort of hell, until I met a talking flower. Then my attitude shifted, because this thing was so nice...it explained things to me, and I was scared, and hurt, and alone." She paused and shifted in her chair. "I was so terrified….but it was actually being nice to me. I wasn't used to it, so I figured the Underground must be some sort of heaven!"

With a scoff, she shook her head, the memory of it all bringing back pain. "The flower tried to kill me. Then I was convinced it was hell." Toriel knew exactly what flower Frisk was talking about, and lowered her head, knowing what came next.

Frisk didn't fail to notice the action, and it sent uncomfortable chills down her spine. She coughed again. "Then...then Toriel came along...and I had a real hard time trusting her….because she was so nice to me...and motherly...and it was so strange. She tried to guide me away from things that hurt me….and….I liked it...Then I figured that maybe the flower had been a demon who had gotten into heaven…." She chuckled softly, startling Mettaton, but wasn't smiling at all. "He really is a demon though."

 _Not as much as me,_ her mind retorted.

Chara glared at that thought, about to protest when Frisk continued talking, ignoring her friend.

"But then I wanted to leave….I...I said I wanted to go home, but the truth is I just wanted to explore. I mean if it really was heaven, even though there were things that tried to hurt me, I should see the rest of it, right? Heh. That ended...really badly. Toriel…"

Her head snapped up at her mom's reaction. The goat had a paw on her mouth and closed eyes, taking deep breaths. Asgore was holding her other paw.

Neither of them was expecting what came next.

"Toriel killed me." She might have continued had everyone not erupted into a confused chaos, all asking the same 'What?!'

Frisk glanced around at the shocked expressions, realizing it didn't really make much sense. Only Alphys was calm.

"Let me explain," Frisk sighed. "This is where things get killed me, by accident, and I came back to life because of my determination. I went back to where I had fallen and had to relive the whole thing...and eventually I began to figure out how to save my progress, if that makes sense. There were these little yellow magic sparks and I could touch them, and they would keep all of the memories and things that would happen, and if I died I would go back to the most recent one."

She took a shaky breath.

"I died a lot. Toriel was the first to kill me, but….it traumatized me. I had actually genuinely believed she loved me...finally someone.." Her breathing hitched and she choked back a sob, doing her best to continue. "And….in response...I ended up killing her…"

There was a small gasp. Frisk covered her face with her hands, hiding the tears that were inevitably beginning to flow. "I didn't mean to. I didn't know how to protect myself…But i figured out it worked...and...then...I just started...killing…" Her appearance just shattered, and everyone was completely silent.

They had no idea how to react.

Toriel had been on the verge of tears, and she let a couple roll onto her fur, her eyes still closed.

"So...that's the main part of it, I guess." Frisk finally continued. "I mean...It isn't really…" She added after a short glare from Alphys. Undyne didn't fail to notice, and raised an eyebrow towards Frisk.

The kid sunk down, gulping. "You guys know what LV is...right?" She questioned, receiving nods. "Well….I...you know the whole dying and resetting thing? Resets? They happened to me a lot. Not just dying and going back to the most recent spot, but sometimes I would just force myself to go back to the beginning out of regret. So...I killed you all….many times. I had gone through the resets, and relived the same life with the same results….but I had never actually gotten past everybody."

Then, she glanced at Chara, taking a deep breath. "When I fell down to the underground, my Determination brought someone back…" She paused, staring directly at her parents, before letting the news slide. "I brought Chara Dreemur's ghost back. She became a part of me, and I see her, and me and her can trade thoughts. Only I can see and here her though...and…" She paused, glancing at the horrified expressions all around, "And she's right here…." Then she gestured to the ghostly figure no one could see.

"I'm not crazy," she swore, before realizing Undyne was about to talk. She help up her hand and continued. "Chara, being a part of me, ended up with all of the LV. At the beginning of a run she would be too weak to control me or stop me, but once she started getting the LV that feeling of need and power returned...and as time went on she would get stronger the closer I got to killing everybody."

"But despite myself...and all of my fears, I could never kill Papyrus."

She smiled sadly, tears streaming down her face. "Sometimes I would just reset before the battle to prevent it, or just to relive with his encouragement. Out of everyone, he was always the truest, and believed in me." Now her smile had turned into a small chuckle and was on the verge of a laugh, her voice cracking.

"But then I killed everyone! Something inside me broke, and I just killed...everyone! By the time I had reached Papyrus Chara had control and I couldn't stop her, and she couldn't stop the LV…."

Then Frisk laughed. She closed her eyes, leaning back, letting her voice ring out in an extremely dead laugh. It sent chills through everyone's spines. "We killed everyone in the underground who intercepted us...only those who evacuated survived. We were so powerful. I couldn't control most of what was happening, and it was only towards the end...when Chara had enough power to form herself a body, that I realized I didn't want it anymore."

Her head was tilted to the side and she still smiled.

Everyone else was dumbstruck with wide eyes, their jaws dropped. Tears rolled down their faces at the prospect.

"So I somehow managed to reset...and when I started to show love...people started to show it back, and I learned how to be a good person because of you all…."

She was shaking her head ever so slightly when Undyne finally spoke up. "Punk….you said you had nightmares?"

Frisk switched to slow nodding.

"What...were they about?"

Frisk paused, opening her eyes to look at Undyne. "All of the things i ever did. Every single murder I had relived. Every single time….you killed me...I dreamt it. I felt it, and I even felt the pain before I woke up, screaming. Nobody ever noticed...but I didn't want them too."

She chuckled once again, freaking Toriel out even more. "Because out of everything...I don't deserve it. I know this world isn't for me." With that, her smile faded. With that her laughing stopped and she lowered her gaze, tears beginning to flow much more freely. Her shoulders began to shake and she began to sob, trying to keep it contained.

Asgore and Toriel were simply horrified at the transformation, and as much as Toriel wanted to help her child, she had a question. She cleared her throat, glancing around at the ghostly faces of the others before doing so. "Frisk….you mentioned you weren't used to love…."

The child froze. Everyone else followed, their gazes locking upon pale and frightened expression.

They sat in silence for a long moment before she could respond, her breathing hitching in her throat several times and her words failing to come out before she got it. "I didn't fall down there…I jumped. I jumped on purpose. I wanted to die.. I was so freaking determined to die and leave my life that I survived." Her face was broken, but a smile graced it anyways, truly showing her pain. She couldn't explain any of her emotions recalling it, but they hurt.

They hurt her and she just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. "I wanted to die because my parents had been abusive. They hurt me. I was a terrible child because of it, and no one really liked me, and because I hadn't shown love no one else showed love. I didn't know how to love when I jumped down….that's why I killed...because to me...everybody was lying. They all really wanted to hurt me."

She looked around, unable to catch her breath at the varying expressions. Toriel was full out sobbing into Asgore, unable to forgive herself because of it, realizing it had been essentially her fault.

Papyrus had a hopeless expression, and Undyne was just fuming. Moments ago she had been crying with the rest of them, but now her anger had taken over in the confusion of what to feel.

In fact Undyne was pissed for more reason then one, and she sat up in her chair, shooting a glare towards Frisk. "You never told us. You never told me. Frisk...you killed us. You KILLED us. You could have at least though to tell us what had happened! You are only telling us now because we are remembering! How do you think that makes us feel? Makes me feel?" Her voice had slowly gotten louder, and she was on the verge of shouting.

Alphys was trying to calm her down, but to no avail.

Frisk was about to speak, but Undyne cut her off. "I feel betrayed, Frisk!" Her voice cracked, and her face fell as she sunk back into the chair. The anger had been unexpected and uncalled for so she immediately felt guilty, but it needed to be said. Over everything she had felt, betrayal was the most prominent.

Frisk found herself speechless. She looked around the room, her heart beginning to break at the obvious conflictions everyone was feeling. Even her mom looked unsure of herself, gripping her husband's paw tightly.

Her mind just sunk deeper into the endless pit called reality. She had never gone this far in it before, and Undyne's words swirled around in her head until she couldn't take it anymore. Chara felt the oncoming storm and braced herself, knowing it would do no good to try and stop her.

Frisk sat up, her frown growing and her eyes narrowing in anger. "I killed you? I KILLED YOU?" Papyrus jumped out of fear, and Sans' eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that.

No one had, and they definitely weren't expecting anything that came next. "Think about it. Toriel killed me first. If I didn't have the ability to reset we wouldn't be here! It took me seven times to actually defeat mom! And UNDYNE! Oooooh boy. You are freaking powerful. I lost count of how many times YOU killed ME like 20 tries in! I gave up more times then I killed you, and you killed me almost more than Sans did!" Her ranting wasn't even close to stopping, but as she saw a few confused gazes swivel towards Sans a laugh ripped from her throat, startling them all to attention.

"Oh Sans. He killed me so many times. When I finally reached that point in time, with Chara in control, he didn't even bother to let me live. He killed me so many times. I have had nightmares about it for over five years. Sans MURDERED ME. When I finally got enough control of Chara to spare him when he offered me mercy…. He killed me again!"

Her eyes were closed and her anger had died down into frantic sobbing. She was unable to catch her breath from the emotions overwhelming her mind, and her knuckles were turning white from clenching her fists.

Sans was overridden with guilt more than anything. He felt sincerely awful for Frisk, and had finally realized it really wasn't just her fault. He had messed up too, and in the end nothing justified either of their actions. The fact that she had been abused broke his heart and only multiplied his guilt, leaving him dumbstruck. He wanted to apologize, but words wouldn't form, and they weren't good enough.

His silence only answered the questions of the others, and Papyrus felt his world beginning to fall apart. More then anybody, he felt just wrong. He had believed in Sans and Frisk, and now it seemed to have been a lie.

Alphys wasn't saying anything, unsure about it all. She felt guilt, but also a bit of pride. She was proud of Frisk for telling everybody, but a bit guilty because Undyne had forced her to when the kid was obviously not ready It was her fault that Undyne figured things out.

Toriel and Asgore could barely think for themselves.

Everybody was trying their hardest to organize everything in their heads, but to no avail. The only thing relatively mutual was an overwhelming sense of betrayal. They sat their in silence while Frisk sobbed, her shoulders shaking. She had buried her face in her hands, hiding the ghostly expression she carried.

Chara was completely silent as well, staring with wide eyes at everything. She was the most unphased, having heard the story before, and because of a relatively clear head, although recalling the story twice in one day had been hard, she was the first to notice Papyrus look up from the ground.

His expression broke her heart, and she wished Frisk wouldn't notice. It didn't work, because the skeleton, with tears rolling down his face, glanced between his brother and Frisk before choosing to speak.

His voice wavered, and he just barely had enough courage to mutter her name. "Frisk…."

Mettaton, who had been staring silently at nothing in befuddlement, snapped his head towards his boyfriend. It drew a gasp from him and he covered his mouth, holding back the sudden urge to cry at the hopeless expression. Something in him knew what was coming next, and an even smaller part of him began to dislike Frisk for bringing this upon Papyrus.

Frisk hadn't moved for a moment, but reluctantly peered through teary eyes, peeling her hands away from her face. Chara held her breath, feeling the overwhelming pain from Frisk.

Papyrus glanced to his brother, letting out a small sigh before turning back to the child. She looked like she was in multitudes of pain, but he couldn't help but feel nothing towards it. There was still a small part of him that wanted to wrap her in a hug and encourage her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Instead he managed to speak exactly what he was feeling.

Papyrus looked up at Frisk, his broken expression wavering for a moment before the words formed. "Frisk….I believed in you."

And that was all it took to kill Frisk Dreemer. To kill her ability to even care. She had felt the shift in the atmosphere when he spoke those words and the sudden negative attitude towards her from Mettaton and Undyne mostly, though even Toriel and Asgore had become reluctant. Alphys was just flabbergasted.

Frisk had been a friend, but she hurt Papyrus. She broke his heart, and that was enough to turn them against her, she believed. It was obvious, and those very words were the last she ever wanted to hear.

She suddenly found the strength to move, to get up and run, sprinting up the stairs. She locked herself in her room, screams and sobs muffled by the door, and no one dared to move or speak.

Their first mistake was not going to see what happened when the screams stopped.

Their second was taking too long to get up the stairs when something hit the floor.

By the time Sans had broken down the door in a panic, it was too late. By that time Chara had screamed herself hoarse, though no one could hear, and the life was draining from Frisk. Horror caused all of them to freeze when they caught a glimpse of the horrific scene. Toriel was the only one who kept her sanity at that moment, although she hesitated out of panic.

Even her healing magic couldn't save Frisk, and soon they all felt themselves fading away into darkness.

 **Frisk! FRISK!** Chara continued to scream in a panic, even as darkness closed all around them. The world had disappeared and she feared what would happen next, frantically looking for her friend. The image that continued to flash in her vision was maddening, and she tried to shut it out by refusing to cease her cries.

Blood everywhere around her friend.

"Chara?"

A lifeless body beginning to fade away.

"CHARA?"

Her eyes snapped open, looking around. There was Frisk, alive and well, running towards her. Chara dashed to meet Frisk, realizing for the first time that she could walk. Then, when the two embraced, she realized she had a form in this realm.

And as the two hugged for dear life, she remembered what was happening. "Frisk, no, you promised. Don't."

The answer was a tight squeeze from Frisk. "I have to. I know what to do now. We can make it better."

"Frisk….?" Even as they spoke their forms were disappearing into the black void. She could feel a strong breeze begin to pull them apart, but what startled her into letting go of Frisk was the images upon the wind.

Memories.

Thousands of them, seemingly getting sucked into some kind of vortex. Chara panicked, turning her gaze back to Frisk only to realize they were beginning to disappear as well. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, recalling being here in the past. And, just as she reached out to Frisk, the vortex sucked her in.

And then they were back at the beginning.


	15. Someone Hit the Restart

Love the reactions I got last chapter! I made someone actually want to physically harm Papyrus! That made me unnervingly proud! XD.

I once again started this chapter on Monday...silly me. I've had a long busy weekend, but whatevvsss, Christmas is coming soon!

Ughhh I'll just put it honestly: this chapter kinda sucks. It's shorter too because I've been busy, but hopefully you guys can understand my nonsense! It's definitely not filler.

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The voices were echoing throughout her head. Frisk tried to focus on them and listen, but soon realized it was simply one voice calling out her name. It was repeated again and again, and as it became clearer and louder, so did the familiar pain flowing throughout her body.

"FRISK!"

The child shot up with a loud cry as the pain swept over her. It was so familiar, and yet even as she felt it things began to fade away again. She opened her eyes to find darkness and a familiar face that stared at her in anger.

She backed away in confusion, feeling especially small. Chara…?

"Yes! Chara! You little twerp, what the hell were you thinking?! You reset! You freaking true reset idiot! Now we have to do it all over again!? Why. The. Hell. Did. You. Freaking. Kill. Yourself?!" Even before she had begun to speak the ghost's face had contorted into anger, and Frisk began recalling what happened.

She looked to the side, shaking her head softly. Because I can't bear it anymore. Come on, I have a plan. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. Frisk stood, stretching her small arms that had stopped aching. There were still several scratches and cuts from the fall, but after some determination they felt a bit better. She eyed the ground, which was a lot closer then she remembered while Chara screamed at her.

"Frisk! What plan?!" The ghost was freaking out. It didn't help that Frisk looked so unnervingly calm. Something was off about this world. When Frisk started walking without answering any questions, she had no choice but to follow, a seed of fear growing in her soul.

Something was definitely off, and it was scaring her.

Frisk wanted to get it over with a soon as possible. Everything hurt, but nothing more than her soul. There was this pulsing pain, and it caused her stomach to cramp and her head to hurt. She couldn't get over what had happened in that timeline as memories flooded back to her.

Papyrus' expression wouldn't leave her mind, and the child gulped, speeding up. The faster she went the sooner it would be over. Even now picturing the things she would have to do was terrifying, but she shook those thoughts from her head.

Killing would get easier along the way if she did it right.

With Chara behind her, she took a sharp left and was greeted by an unnervingly familiar face. Her breathing hitched once again, but she continued to walk forward, one foot at a time. Flashbacks from his wicked form brought back phantom pains she had long ago forgotten, but she kept on the nervous, uncertain appearance.

He obviously wasn't fooled, but they both played along. It was pointless acting.

She wanted nothing more than to strangle him, and was sure he wanted the same, but even as she avoided his 'friendliness pellets' his irritation was planned out and she had heard the words several times. He still tried to kill her, despite a familiar monster lurking in the background.

Things passed by in a flash of fire, and soon her mother was there. Toriel was just as she remembered her, though a bit younger, and Frisk couldn't talk. She just stared in a pained awe, realizations finally dawning upon her with what she was about to do.

"What a terrible creature, preying on such a poor, innocent youth!" The goat started with a smile on her face. She felt a pang of sympathy and pity for the child, who was obviously in pain. Her smile soon faded in fear when tears began running down their face.

Frisk hadn't been able to hold them back, standing there like some braindead idiot, dumbstruck. Chara was watching with wide eyes, still confused as hell, when Frisk started laughing. It was mechanical and yet somehow full of so much….dread.

It echoed off the walls, which only made the soft sound seem almost overpowering. Toriel had taken a frightened step back, shivers running down her spine.

The child's head had even tilted to the side a little bit as she continued to laugh, completely unsure of her actions. There wasn't really thing else to do. She didn't find it funny, but rather the fact that it hurt sent waves of distraught over her. She laughed uncontrollably, tears running down her face, only pausing when Chara spoke to her.

"Frisk...you are scaring mom…" The ghost krept in front of her friend, waving frantically, trying to get a reaction. She had begun to put bits and pieces together but had a ways to go before forming a complete picture.

The laughter stopped, but Frisk didn't even bother wiping her tears. Everything had become a blur to her, and she really didn't care. Her breathing was slow and her thoughts distant, but she somehow managed to focus on Toriel, who had been watching worriedly.

Despite the startling introduction, her mother didn't take long to grow comfortable with her again. Things passed by rather quickly for Frisk, though she tried to savor some of the precious moments between her and her mother. She was too focused on the unavoidable and quickly approaching future to focus on much of the present. It was only because of Chara's guidance that she hadn't run into any spikes or other dangerous things.

The images running through her head were violent and terrifying, but she couldn't block them away. Chara had been catching glimpses of the pictures, but didn't say anything despite the fear they induced. She was the only one out of the pair who had noticed Toriel's nervous glances and uncomfortable speech patterns.

Of course she couldn't blame the mom for being uncomfortable around Frisk. The laughing had been unnerving enough as it is, but the child then continued to only act nice around the goat. She was completely rude to other monsters, and had already began killing.

The dummy was her first victim, and after that things just got weird.

Sure Toriel and Frisk got along, especially with the latter being oblivious to her violent actions, but things were just unnerving.

Even though Frisk acted clueless, Chara knew that her friend had a plan. It had already started out completely wrong, but with each passing kill the pieces were coming together. She hadn't tasted any of the LV that should have been coming in by the glassful, which only made it clearer that Frisk was hoarding it for herself.

She wanted the power for some reason. Chara just couldn't quite think of why.

Eventually the two made it to the courtyard where Toriel would meet them. Frisk had shaken off as much dust as she could beforehand, putting a fake smile on her face and preparing herself to relive the following scene one last time.

What came after that was what she really needed preparation for, but Frisk chose to ignore the impending choice she would force herself to make. The LV was already beginning to take effect so she wouldn't feel so bad about it. She had been slowly healing and had eaten some monster candy so her physical pain at least died down, but a phantom ache still remained.

Her heart continued to drop when her phone rang, but she reluctantly answered, knowing full well the outcome would be the same. She still had a little bit of hope that things would change, but it was quickly erased away as the time ticked by.

"How did you get here, my child?" Toriel's confused voice echoed over the phone right as she shut it off, hurrying over to Frisk. She seemed worried and relieved at the same time. "Are you hurt? Who did this to you? You will get an apology. I should not have left you along for so long." She sighed and massaged the bridge of her snout with her fingers. "It was irresponsible to try to surprise you...Well...I suppose I cannot hide it any longer!" She smiled and clapped her hands together, turning around. "Come, small one!"

Frisk glanced to Chara and sighed, shaking her head, before dragging her feet along the ground and following her mother.

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results….I think that sums up my life pretty well. Wouldn't you agree, Chara? Frisk smiled ruefully at the ghost as she relayed the thought.

Chara reluctantly agreed. It was true. But you did get different results you know. I still don't understand why you erased it all! We had a good life. They would have forgiven you after a while. If this repetition is driving you insane you should have never reset. She hovered in front of Frisk to make sure she was listening.

The kid avoided her gaze, continuing to walk behind Tori, and shook her head. I couldn't bear it anymore...okay? I just can't. I'm barely holding it together right now...in fact I don't think I even am. I just...I...I can't explain how I feel...how numb...and how pointless everything is…

I can't feel anything, Chara. I want to curl up into a ball and cry, but I can't sum up enough emotion too. Everything is scattered all over the place and I just...I just….need to die. I need it to stop. I only care less and less with the LV….but it will be worth it….

What will be worth it, Frisk? What could be worth that reset? Chara had already figured out the answer, but she needed to get Frisk talking. She knew exactly what she was talking about. The numb, lifeless cloud that overtakes one's mind and begins to control and mold you into a shell.

My death. Frisk casually replied. She didn't look at Chara and simply walked by, scooting inside the door that Toriel held open for her and smiling politely in thanks.

Chara found herself feeling sick. She floated inside and as she watched Toriel show Frisk the pie, she realized how much she wanted to smell and taste it right then. She asked Frisk if she could, and found the warm smell of it drifting over.

She sniffed the air and smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. If she couldn't stop Frisk that would be the end. She would finally pass away and become nothing more than an erased memory. Her thoughts were frozen in mud for a while, stuck on the fact that she might die, but as things began to unthaw her anger began to unleash itself.

Frisk was tucked in bed, but she wasn't going to be getting sleep anytime soon.

Frisk. You are so freaking selfish. Chara suddenly sighed, her hands on her hips.

The kid rolled over in bed, glancing at Chara curiously. What?

You are being selfish.

How the hell am I being selfish, Chara? Stop being so freaking cryptic. Frisk sighed in confusion and let out a small growl, clenching her fists. She was tired and cranky and didn't feel like putting up with any sass from Chara.

Frisk's response only made her angrier, and the ghost pursed her lips in a frown. You are planning on killing yourself. Did you even think about me? I don't even know how you plan on removing yourself but I will have to go to! Did you even consider the fact that I liked living on the surface?! I was okay with it! We could have managed once they knew! But noooo, you have to go and RESET everything because you can't deal with emotions! She threw her hands up and the air and took a deep breath, shaking her head.

Frisk avoided eye contact and rolled back over in her bed, facing away from Chara. A frown tugged at her lips and she let out a frustrated sigh. Even Chara couldn't trust her now. I have a plan. You will like it, you just have to be patient.

I already don't like it, Frisk. You are going through killing everyone again...but for what reason? You won't tell me! I'm worried! Chara hovered over the bed, glaring down at Frisk with her hands on her hips.

There was no response. Frisk shifted uncomfortably for a moment before turning and burying her face in her pillow. Chara glared and frowned, but turned away anyways. She studied the shoe box in the room, recognizing a couple pairs, and busied herself with random observations

She waited until Frisk was obviously asleep to make a move. All creatures, no matter how powerful, are at risk when they sleep. It was her job to make sure Frisk wasn't harmed, but now the tables had turned a little bit.

She would never hurt Frisk but had to break down their mental walls. Chara floated in the middle of the room, watching her friend, and started the attack. It had to be quiet or else Frisk might wake up, but she started prying at their walls.

It was much easier than she thought. Frisk had left open a small window for emergency communication and that was all it took to begin sneaking some of the LV out. It had to be enough to give Chara power, but she couldn't take too much without Frisk knowing, so once she felt the drug taking effect she stopped.

Chara felt a bit dizzy but knew it was for the better. Whatever Frisk's plan was she couldn't let her have full control. The power she had would be enough to continue stealing from Frisk to prevent her from having too much.

Her eyes stung, but she smiled nonetheless, practically tasting the drug on her tongue. She hadn't realized how long it had been, but still had to stay sensible. No matter how strong her thirst for blood became she knew she needed to stop Frisk.

The rest of the night passed extremely slowly, but she stayed by Frisk's side. The temptation to steal more LV was there, but she wisely resisted it.


	16. Happy Holidays!

**Well hey guys. Sorry to do this to you all, but I need a break. I've had a really long week with tons of finals and recitals up the wazoo, and my head won't stop hurting, so I think I just need to step back and relax a bit. I mean I know most people are writing a lot during the Holidays, and I probably will write a bit, but I need a break as well.**

 **I'm a person too, ya know. ;)**

 **So I will definitely be back by Christmas. I will be writing, I just really don't want to have the pressure of uploading every week. Thank you for supporting me through all this, and if you have any suggestions for the upcoming chapters lemme know!**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Have some Cake~ Also I'll be perfectly willing to answer any questions you have for me over break. Feel free to ask the characters what their thoughts on this whole mess are too! Ask away!**


	17. Almost there

**I'll be uploading my next chapter this Wednesday! :D I hope everybody enjoyed their breaks and got some stuff (or NOTHING!) done! Also I've been trying to reply to those who have review on my chapters through PM, but it hasn't been working, so I'll just respond here.**

 _ **IGotBoredAndChangedMyName:**_ **Haha, did I give you a heart attack? No? Dang it. ;P**

 _ **Composed-of-Opposites:**_ **Why thank you! I'll be thrilled to say I definitely did enjoy a relaxing Christmas break. I got plenty of things done as well, without any crazy timelines. It's time to get back in business, despite the doctors orders. *winks***

 _ **AyeJimmy123:**_ **Of course cake!**

 _ **cassianaswindell12:**_ **Huehuehuehuehuehuehuehuehue. (Maybe you were right all along. *DUN DUN DUNNNNN*)**

 **Alright. *waves frantically* seee y'all on Wednesday!**


	18. Dust and Disgust

**Hope you guys had a good break! I've been trying to work on chapters but it's crazy how easy it is to not be motivated when there isn't a deadline, XD.**

* * *

 _Oh gosh._ There was a small groan, followed by a hushed curse word. _Oh gosh. Why?_ Frisk rolled her face into the old-smelling pillow, scrunching up her face in agony. The movement didn't help to lessen just how _awful_ she felt. It wasn't only just the blistering headache that wouldn't stop squeezing her temples, but just the disgusting air around her.

Her face was sweaty, her hair greasy, and she felt like a burnt piece of toast in general. It was only the unyielding heat from the warm blankets that brought her to move. She kicked the quilt off, groaning and rolling over. Her hand, tangled up in the sheet underneath her, took a bit of untangling before she could bring it to her face and sweep the hair out of the way.

She felt sick.

Everything hurt, but she just felt so unexplainably disgusting….she felt ugly. Not throw up sick, but she felt like a sicko. Worthless? Disgusting? Maybe she would never know, but the longer she pondered over it in bed, the longer her life was going to drag on.

So, with a heavy sigh, Frisk dragged herself to a sitting position, her head pounding with the slight movement. She had to pause a minute before turning to rest her gaze upon the expected plate of Butterscotch Cinnamon pie. Even in her state the smell of it brought her a smile. Her stomach rumbled and she glanced down.

Then, with a couple slow, delicate movements, she slid sideways off the bed, her feet dragging on the floor, and practically passed out next to the plate. She felt so stiff and sore. It was disgusting. She probably looked like hell.

The pie was right in front of her and she was tempted to take a bite: to savor the much needed food and healing. It would be stupid to waste it, so with a reluctant sigh, she slid the pie off its plate and found a container, sticking it in the makeshift bag that was randomly in the room.

She stood, slinging it over her shoulder, and stretched. A groan once again escaped her lips. THey were very chapped and her tongue felt dry in her had been watching from a corner, her eyebrow raised. She didn't talk until they met each other's gazes. "You look awful, Frisk."

The kid didn't need to see it to know that was the truth. _Yeah. Feel the same way. Let's hurry up and get today over with, alright?_

Chara frowned but nodded nonetheless. Frisk had been awfully blunt those days. She didn't feel like drawing out the stiff conversation between them so it was in silence that the two headed toward Toriel and that dreaded chair.

Before entering the living room the human paused and grabbed a piece of monster candy. The flavor wasn't too bad, but she didn't wait to savor it. She worked at the sweet, hastily chewing it despite it being a hard candy. There was a moment of silence before the rejuvenating feeling washed over her and easily eliminated most of the foulness. Her health hadn't been too damaged, but that little bit of candy completely restored it.

With no intentions of reliving the battle more than she had to, Frisk would need every bit of health she could get. Dwelling on it only lowered her spirits, which was quite a feat considering she didn't have much excitement to begin with, and so she continued to that chair.

The following conversation had been etched in the back of her head for years, and now she was seeing it relieved once again. This was the last time she would ever hear it. Hear her mother speaking with her usually soft, soothing voice.

Tori looks up as she entered the room, a surprised smile gracing her face. "Up already, I see?" She paused and glanced sideways, her smile faltering, before organizing her thoughts enough to talk. "Um...I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books to share. I want to show you my favorite bug hunting spot... I've also prepared a curriculum for your education!" Toriel got more excited as she spoke, not quite realizing just how eager she sounded. It was almost cheesy.

Frisk knew her heart, however. It was just in Toriel's nature.

The goat mom let out a short breath, smiling, and shook her head at herself. "This may come as a surprise to you...but I have always wanted to be a teacher…." There was another pause, during which she reconsidered her wording. "Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising." She scrunched up her nose and shook her head, eliciting a pathetic smile from Frisk. "STILL. I am glad to have you living here."

Toriel smiled to herself before looking rather startled. She turned back to Frisk, tilting her head curiously. "Oh, did you want something?"

Frisk, whose, despite the small smile, lip was trembling, nodded her head. Tori grinned.

"When can I go home?" The words stretched her vocal chords, sounding dry and scratchy, but as soon as they left her mouth all of the sound from the room felt as if it were sucked out. She shuddered, wincing.

"What?" Tori stuttered, taking a minute to compose herself. "This….this IS your home now…" She glanced down at her book, frantically looking for something to change the subject. "Um...would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called '72 Uses For Snails'. How about it?" She practically had the book memorized.

Frisk's hands shook and she let out a tremulous breath. "How to….exit the ruins….?"

Again her mother's eyes scanned the page. "Um….how about an exciting snail fact? Did you know that snails…." her voice trailed off, looking for something to say. Anything to say! Toriel was getting desperate. "Have a chainsaw-like tongue called a radula?"

Her mouth was turned in a frown and she reached up to fix her skepticles, trying to play the randomness out. "Interesting…" Tori muttered.

Frisk inhaled, closing her eyes. Her throat hurt. "How to….exit the ruins?" She instinctively stepped back, opening her eyes in preparation for the next chain of events. Tori stood, unable to meet her child's gaze.

"...I have to do something. Stay here," she ordered. The book, still in her hands, was gently placed on the arm of the chair before she rushed back, refusing to look back at Frisk. It was probably a good thing to, considering the child didn't listen to her command.

Frisk exchanged pained glances with Chara before hurrying behind her mom, the overpowering weight on her shoulders getting heavier with each step. She wanted nothing more than to collapse under the pressure into a sobbing mess, but Determination kept her moving.

 _Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh…._ She hyperventilated as softly as she could, almost tripping down the stairs.

Chara floated behind, wanting to comfort her friend. They had always been there for eachother in the past...but she couldn't bear to assist in this terrible plan. Besides, Frisk had been dodging most of her confrontations. **I'd love to say it'll be alright, but you're literally going to murder your mother. That's not okay. In the previous timelines we could have all forgiven you because you were a child! It wasn't your fault you had a terrible past! But this….**

Frisk cut her off with a glare, stepping down the stairs. _Well I'm sorry for wanting to die, Chara. And you're right, it's not going to get better, but please don't make me hate you._

 **I don't hate you. I hate what you are right now. Act like my friend again and I won't mind doing the same.**

There was no response, and Chara watched her friend march off down the stairs. She didn't catch a glimpse of what they might be feeling, but she honestly didn't care. She had her own emotions to deal with and didn't need that attitude from Frisk crossing over.

The ghost gave up expecting a response, floating after Frisk.

The dark, purple color of the exit only filled both children with a greater sense of dread. Despite their differences they stood near eachother, pale-faced.

Toriel couldn't stop her heart from breaking. She didn't know what to do, on the verge of breaking down into tears. Her heart was thumping so loud she feared the child might have heard it. Her harsh shell was the only thing keeping her from sounding panicked. "You wish to know how to return 'Home' do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. " Toriel took a breath, taking a moment to consider her decision.

It only made more sense as she nodded. "I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again."

Frisk closed her eyes, taking another step as Toriel began to move closer to their battle. She knew her mother hadn't intended to kill her then, when she was just a child. She hadn't known what she was doing when she could barely talk.

"Now be a good child and go upstairs." Toriel commanded, hurrying away.

Frisk only followed, her chest freezing up. If only she had listened that first time so many years ago.

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate.I have seen it again and again. They come….They leave….They die…" Toriel's voice cracked and she once again hurried forward, not looking behind her at the following child.

"You naive child...if you leave the Ruins…..They….ASGORE….will kill you...I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room…" She recovered her firmness again, moving forward. Her fire was bubbling over the edge and flickered on her paws. She held her hands out of sight of the kids behind her who was sure enough continuing to follow her.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning."

Frisk gulped, taking another step forward in response. The simple tap of her worn-out shoes echoed throughout the corridor. Toriel walked away.

The door was so freaking close and they could all see it. Only Chara and Frisk knew what would come next, for even Toriel didn't know her own actions would lead to something so dastardly. "You want to leave so badly?" she hissed, closing her eyes as she slowed to a halt in front of the exit. "Hmph. You are just like the others...There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself…" her voice caught and she opened her eyes, blinking back tears. "Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

Toriel whirled around, lifting her hands as she let the fire finally spill out. It flickered on her paws before growing to a ball of fire. Tears rolled down her fur and she didn't attempt to hide them as she faced Frisk.

The world darkened around them and Chara's eyes widened before she turned away. "Toriel….blocks the way…" she muttered, shaking her head violently.

One hit. That was all it took. One single hit was all it had ever took and one hit was all it still took to this day. The fire faded away from Toriel's paws as she fell to her knees, clutching at the large gash that tore across her torso.

Frisk could feel the LV piling in and couldn't help the small smile that twitched upon her lips despite the flowing tears.

"Y….you…. really hate me that much?" Her voice broke and her fear showed clearly. "Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here…." She matched Frisk's smile, tears running down her fur.

Toriel never thought it would end this way. She glanced up at the roof of the Ruins, her soul breaking as she realized she would never see the light of day. "Not you….but them!" Her smile turned into a grin as she laughed, slowly and painfully, the tears continuing to flow. Her body faded into dust a moment later.

It was only then that Frisk's smile faded, her mouth hanging open. Chara was hugging herself, sobbing violently and facing the other way, unable to look. Both children might have collapsed to the ground had one not been a ghost, so only Frisk felt her knees buckling out from under her.

The feeling of LV was numbing, but her heart hurt to much to let it overtake her. Toriel had never died from her crippling hit, but a broken heart. She had heard it rip in half as the goat mom disappeared, and the sobs simply overtook her tiny body.

Frisk didn't care how long she lay there, curled up in a ball, sobbing violently.

Flowey frowned, letting out a long sigh. If he had a foot he would have been tapping it, but even his vines were juttering impatiently. The kid had more than enough time to accomplish whatever route she had decided to take which, from the feel of things, had been genocide.

He still couldn't help but wonder why on earth she came back to relive genocide after having her happy ending. It confused the heck outta him, but he knew the answer would come eventually.

Right now he was still waiting for the kid to come waltzing through with that evil smile on her face. She had never taken this long before, not even in pacifist routes, and he finally dragged himself down through his root system, burrowing towards the ruin door.

It changed up the timeline, sure, but he didn't mind a little diversity here and there. But good lord of that kid passed by while he was looking for her then by golly she'd get a lashing. It sounded cruel he knew, but not like the heartless monster cared.

He supposed the surprising sight before him made sense. Frisk, curled up on the ground near Toriel's ashes, sobbing her heart out. He had never seen it before, and what triggered it was understandable but really out of character for Frisk.

I mean she obviously had plenty of LV already, but the compassion was still there.

Flowely rooted himself behind her a ways, watching quietly. It was surprising when she looked his way, blinking away more tears.

 **Guess who is here!** Chara thrilled to Frisk, a deathly undertone to the cheerful phrase. Frisk didn't even have to look up to know who, but she did anyways, smiling at him.

Flowey grinned back, bobbing cheerfully side to side. "Howdy, Frisk! I was getting awfully lonely up ahead...you were just taking so long!" His smile faded into a pouty face and he tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

Frisk raised and eyebrow, slowly pulling herself to a sitting position. She wiped her eyes a bit, sniffling, before resting her elbows on her knees and leaning forward. "You know, the usual."

"No I don't really know," Flowly began, only to have Frisk finish his sentence.

"But you don't really care, yeah." Her smile widened and she tilted her head at him, mimicking his pathetic expression. "Sowwy for holding up your day, Flowey. I honestly didn't mean to~" Chara still mourned the loss of her mother, but couldn't help but chuckle at their banter.

Everything was just so off nobody could stand it. Flowey was the first to give up acting friendly. He straightened, his bright yellow petals stiffening, and he grinned, teeth showing. Flowers had teeth? Yes, but Flowey was most monster then flower. "So, is the LV taking some time to hit'cha, or are you just feeling extra _pathetic_ today."

Frisk smiled and shrugged, standing up. It actually took some effort on her part, and she realized that her body was pretty battered, despite Toriel not even landing a hit on her. It was crazy what a sobbing session could do, she observed, brushing off some dirt and….dust. Frisk's breathing hitched, but she ignored it. "A little of both, perhaps. Now if you don't mind I'll be on my way, Flowey. Not that I particularly care what you think, but oh well!' She laughed and grinned at him, even pulling off his signature wink before turning on her heel.

The monster frowned, irritated at her extravagant behavior. Hopefully she'd get back on track with their unofficial schedule, not that he minded a bit of drama.

He didn't say anything, just watching her walk away through the Ruin door, shutting it behind her. The wind it creates scattered some of Toriel's dust, and he mindlessly watched it, a blank smile on his face. He wished he could care.

Frisk's composure fell as soon as Flowey was out of sight. She actually had closed to door on Chara, but that didn't really matter considering the ghost could fly through anything. It was still rude, however, and Chara told her so.

"Don't just shut me out like that. It makes you think you've forgotten about me!" She protested. Having a conversation would help take both their minds off of things, but Frisk was in no mood to act friendly.

"Maybe I did forget…." she muttered, hurrying along the slowly lightening hall. The faster she walked the quicker it got cold.

Both of the girls would generally chat their hearts away in an attempt to ignore everything that was happening, but with the tension between them they found no choice but to dwell on it. The image of Toriel's dust plagued their thoughts, and the snow that appeared as Frisk shoved open the door was only that much grayer.

She closed her eyes, the cold stinging her cheeks, and let out a cloud of warm air. "One down," she said, staring directly at Alphy's camera.

If she was lucky they would never encounter the scientist.


	19. Spooky Scary Skeletons

**Hey guys! Thanks for 80 people reading my story. Or, in otherwords, followers! It makes me happy that at least 80 people in the world depend upon me finishing this! Yes. 80 people will DIIEEE if I don't finish, XD. This may seem a bit rushed, but I don't want to write two chapters for each major fight. I'm trying to get a boss down in each chapter, though that might not always work. :D Love y'all!**

* * *

The next few frigid days went by in a blur. Frisk was becoming numb, not just from the cold, but from the LV that began to power and move her body. It was the only thing spurring her forward at this rate, and Chara was beginning to slide down the path to insanity as well. The corners of her vision went dark on occasion, watching her friend continue to kill. They were both numb to the world.

When they first entered the cold world, Sans was the last thing on their minds, but as Frisk began to hurry along the slick, icy path, the thought of the skeleton came rushing back to was a big mistake when she assumed he would play along. Flowey had already broken their usual routine, and she didn't even consider the fact that Sans would.

But he had been so, freakin angry when he saw them. If a skeleton could turn red, he would have very definitely done so in his extreme anger. He even, instead of stepping on the large stick as Frisk walked slowly through the snow, simply picked it up. He weighed it in his hands before bringing it behind his head, waiting a moment, and then sending it flying.

The stick hit Frisk dead on, just barely missing her spine. She didn't know what hit her, but she knew it had hurt, knocking her over in the snow. Her back pulsed at the point of impact, and a sob of pain escaped her throat. The human used her arms to push herself up out of the snow. Her face was covered in the stuff, and it stung her skin. Her hands were buried in the stuff, and she wanted to get out of it. By the time she had gathered enough strength to stand, the skeleton had reached her. He grabbed her collar and helped her up.

She nearly fell over again out of fear.

"Sans wh-?"

"human…." Sans' voice was deep and absolutely terrifying. Frisk was frozen stiff, but only because of Chara's urging did she begin to walk- no, run away from the skeleton. The bridge was so close, if she could just make it to where Papyrus was. Her feet, burning in the snow, were lifted off the ground as Sans once again grabbed her shirt collar. Frisk stifled a scream, pulling at the neck of her coat.

When her feet touched the snow she tried once again to run, but he had a firm grim. "dontcha know how to greet a new pal?"

 **He's distracted, run Frisk! Run!** Chara screamed as a warning. Sans had glanced behind them at the stick for a moment, debating whether or not to go and grab it, but Frisk took the opportunity to run again, wrenching herself out of his grip and sprinting as fast as her small legs could carry her. Five years into the future she might have been able to outrun Sans longer, but she was but a child in this timeline. Despite that age difference, she still made it to the bridge.

But something stopped her. In the past it had been fear that paralyzed her as Sans would approach from behind, his dark footsteps echoing around the forest. But now, now as she was ready to spur onwards, his blue magic held her in place. The only plus sides was that it provided some warmth, although she would have rather braved the cold then him. Frisk found herself unable to breath, recalling the many times before when Sans had held her. Each time had been for a negative reason, and she highly doubted this was any different.

He reached her, stopping his heavy footsteps. Silence began to reverberate throughout the world, and Frisk couldn't help but feel fear. Utterly immobilizing fear. "turn around," he growled. "and shake my hand."

Frisk didn't want to. Chara didn't want her too, and even with both their compassion melting away with each kill, they could still feel fear and sorrow. It was overwhelming as Sans used his magic to turn the child around, making her lift up her hand. He grasped her in his own, the cold breaking through his magical barrier as the whoopecushion upon his hand exploded. It didn't make a farting sound. Instead ketchup began to ease through their clasped hands, especially dripping along Frisk's arm, for she was shorter.

His laugh was evil and dry. 'heheh...the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick." He finally let go of her hand, but didn't release her. Instead he tilted her hand up more, letting the condiment drip further down her arm and into her sleeve. Frisk shut her eyes, unable to hold back a shudder.

"I'll be honest with ya, kid. I'm too lazy to give the whole speech. so I 'spose I may just explain my desire to kill you right now. i mean, let's be honest here. what the damn hell were you thinking?" She opened her eyes a little bit, finding that his small white pupils had completely disappeared.

Chara gulped, floating right besides Frisk.

"I have to do this, Sans," the human choked out. He had just 'recently' heard her speaking, but it was this voice that startled him a bit. It was dry and tiny. Small, timid, and high. The voice of a frightened young girl, with something dark stirring behind it.

"why? we were happy. you promised." His voice, if possible, sounded like it went an octave lower. It was strained, and when Frisk glanced up at his face he was looking away, frowning. How did skeletons frown, she would never know, but it was the least of her worries.

"Well I lied, Sans. This is for the better. I have a plan, just let me go through with it, please. One more time. That's it. Then we will be done and it will all be better." Her words shook, but she spit them out with at least some confidence. Now that the initial fear has dissipated maybe she could convince him to let her go. Her wits were coming back to her, and with it the LV. "I'll kill them all. Once more."

'you've already done enough killing, kiddo. why should I trust you?"

Frisk looked down for a moment before drawing up a string of courage, meeting his disapproving gaze directly. "You shouldn't, Sans. But you don't have a choice, and you might as well make it easier." She paused and glanced at Chara, who was wringing her hands together. Even now the ghost was on Frisk's side, other then a part of her that seriously wanted Sans to keep her rooted here forever. "I will swear on my life."

Sans' frown deepened, his white teeth seemingly duller than in the past. "kid…..i'll make you a deal…"

And thus they came to a conclusion. It took a little bit of negotiating, and Chara was extremely surprised that either agreed.

Frisk's next few hours in Snowdin were filled with endless murder, so, by the time she had finished most of Papyrus' puzzles, they had become deathly annoying. She wanted to strangle the skeleton for putting her through them all, but many warning glares from Sans told her otherwise. With her irritation rising and the LV levels as well, she continued to shout at Chara.

Dogeresa and Dogamy were easily dusted, as well as the rest of the dog knights. Chara had the feeling she might need to steal LV directly before the battle, whether Frisk would know or not, in order to uphold their deal with Sans. Despite Frisk's constant grumbling, it was actually a great one. Sans had sworn not to interfere with their plan, as long as they reset to pacifist eventually, in exchange for Papyrus' life. In other words, they had to leave the two skeleton brothers alive with a promise of no interference.

Frisk, and Chara, had almost instantly agreed to it, but now with all the LV built up, Frisk had begun to taste that desire for more. It wasn't that she wanted to kill Papyrus. In truth she didn't particularly care whether he lived or died, but he had valuable LV to provide. Hence why Chara continued to consider stealing more. By the time they reached the battle, with fog shrouding their vision, Frisk appeared to have things under control.

"HALT, HUMAN!" The tall, shadowy figure called out. His jaw clattered together in the uneasy silence that had become Snowdin. Frisk took an uneasy step forward, that deathly sense of deja-vu rattling her bones. "HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Papyrus pleaded, trying to peer through the fog and see her. He didn't quite understand why it was so especially gloomy in this particular spot.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY! FIRST: YOU'RE A FREAKING WEIRDO!" He scolded. It might have been a good thing that he didn't hear the weak giggle that escaped Frisk's lips. She agreed heavily on that matter and had known if for years, but it still pulled at something in her heart.

Chara felt it too, a moment of hesitation causing her to halt as she followed Frisk. Even though Papyrus had said something that initially got them into the situation, he didn't deserve it. None of the monsters deserved what Frisk was putting them through again, even if it would be the last time. A vision of Toriel's dust brought tears to Chara's eyes and the ghost shook her head.

"NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES, BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE….THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER….IT FEELS….LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH." He paused, glancing downwards at the cold snow. Well, it didn't feel cold, but he knew it was. It would be pretty easy to hide in as well if he didn't have a bright orange scarf on. Something caused Papyrus to look up again, and he saw that the human was moving again. No, he needed to give them hope! They deserved it! "HOWEVER!" he shouted, lifting a hand in determination. "I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU!" Yes. Not just potential. Papyrus saw great potential, and he made sure to exaggerate that, clenching his fist. "EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY!"

Frisk let out another laugh, and this time it carried over to him. She was now close enough to see him hesitate, and it brought up the unhealthy feeling of pride. If she couldn't kill him, she could make him squirm.

"Frisk if you hurt him you won't be able to stop," Chara growled, coming around to float in front of her friend, making sure to always stay in view. Papyrus watched the human, afraid to take his gaze off of them.

"AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He made his best attempt to lighten the mood, and Chara wanted nothing more than to go and hug him. He was so sweet, and her heart nearly froze as Frisk took another step. The ghost growled in warning, sounding more like a feral dog then a human, though she was currently neither.

 **Frisk. Don't even consider it,** the ghost warned, her gaze narrowing on the human child, who hesitated in her swaying footsteps.

 _I wasn't, Chara._ They hissed, an irritated expression flashing across their face. They began walking towards Papyrus again, their hand clenching and unclenching: as if they needed to hold something. Preferably sharp. Chara had convinced her to leave the knife behind, and now she was regretting it. She didn't have to kill Papyrus, but she could injure him. Sans never said anything about that.

 **He said you couldn't hurt Papyrus!** Chara protested as she caught wind of the dark emotions in Frisk's head.

 _Be real Chara,_ the human smirked at her, though her gaze didn't leave the skeleton, who was now completely visible through the fog. He looked terrified, but was trying desperately to hide it. _I've already hurt him._

 **You can't freaking hurt him anymore!** Chara wanted desperately to stand in front of Frisk and hug her: keep her from moving. As a ghost the most she could do was hover between the two, even though Papyrus couldn't really see her. Frisk wasn't giving her an option, and as much as Chara hated to do it, she began reaching over through their link and dragging over some LV.

The drug filled her with adrenaline, and she took more, convincing herself it was to save Frisk and not her own greed. Frisk had never experience the full power of LV, she reminded herself. Chara would have more control in this situation, but she still didn't want to be in control. Just as she was about to reach over for more, Frisk shut most off their connection, a shout escaping her lips.

Papyrus visibly jumped, his bones beginning to rattle.

"CHARA! GIVE IT BACK!" Frisk shouted. To anyone else she looked insane, and especially to Papyrus, who had begun walking backwards even though the child had stopped.

Chara crossed her arms, trying to smirk. "Why on earth? You can't control yourself, Frisk. I had to take some to lessen the load. I'll give more back when we pass Papyrus, okay?" She would give some back, but definitely not all. Just enough to make Frisk happy. She needed to balance it out so they both kept their sanity, and even now her mindset was beginning to root for the death of Papyrus. But, if that happened, with both Frisk and her trying to kill him, the skeleton wouldn't survive.

Chara needed to stay strong. It was all for Frisk, and she still wondered why she complied.

 _You….ugh. Give it back as SOON as we enter hotland, capiche?_ Frisk retorted. She had gained enough sense to speak through their connection this time, although it was smaller than before. She couldn't trust Chara anymore, even though her friend did help her. She still wanted to murder Papyrus, but it wasn't overwhelming. She even straightened herself in a way that wasn't so death-like, holding her head high.

Papyrus had watched with confusion and finally had enough courage to speak. "H-HUMAN. A-ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" His questioned echoed in the icy pass, and he didn't hear a response. In fact, that was the only time he heard her speak, but she had been bonkers. "I-I, PAPYRUS, HAVE DEDUCTED THAT YOU ARE VERY SICK!" He clattered.

Yes. That made sense. The human was loony! It would explain everything! Papyrus stepped backwards and wrung his hands together. Chara held back a laugh. "IT WOULD NOT BE NOBLE OF ME TO FIGHT A SICK HUMAN!" He nodded his head, finally stopping in his tracks. To his surprise the human stopped too, and he met her gaze.

His jaw nearly fell off. Her eyes were red. Not fully red, they were a deep red-brown, but they were still red, and something dark stirred behind them. With each moment it was getting harder to speak. "SO, BECAUSE YOU ARE SICK….HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MUST CARE FOR YOU UNTIL WE ARE WELL ENOUGH TO FIGHT!" As soon as the word left his mouth, the world around the two faded.

Papyrus' eyes widened. The human had initiated a fight, despite his advice. "H-HUMAN?"

Frisk's sanity lowered a bit, and she took deep breaths. Chara was throwing threats at her, swearing that she'd fulfil them if she hurt Papyrus. Frisk wondered why her friend was so adamant to protect their deal with Sans anyways. She didn't realize that Chara didn't quite know either.

"SO YOU THINK YOU ARE WELL ENOUGH THEN?"

Frisk nodded, lifting her twitching hand. Papyrus hesitated. "I SUPPOSE WE MUST FIGHT THEN!" This time she shook her head, pointing to the side.

"Go," she commanded, her voice barely there. Her hand visibly shook, itching to turn on the skeleton.

"BUT I THOUGHT YOU WANTED A FIGHT?!" His head was swirling, and if he could breathe he probably wouldn't be doing it so well at this particular moment. The child was getting more confusing, and he was torn between fighting her or leaving.

She repeated the order, not moving a bit. The only sign of her being alive was how her hand shook, and the small cloud of mist that appeared in front of her face from time to time.

"BUT…IF I GO…?" It would mean he lost a battle. And that was something Papyrus had done many times, but it was more of the running part that terrified him. Papyrus had only run from one fight before in his life, and running from another was worse then loosing. It completely obliterated his honor. He suppose that since both parties would be agreeing, then it wouldn't be running...but he still couldn't help but feel queasy at the notion.

"Go."

Papyrus took a step back, his shoe crunching in the snow, and clenched his fists. He would not run from a fight. She was sparing him, but he could not run. She had initiated the fight and now they would have to battle it out, but something inside Papyrus pulled him away. Something in his instinct turned him around, and that same thing dragged him along to a walk. Soon it was a jog, and shortly after a sprint. Papyrus ran from a battle for the second time in his life, and though it filled him with great dread, he felt he had done the right thing.

The human hadn't been well enough to fight, he told himself. Deep down he knew it was fear, however, but not even the best of Spaghetti would get him to admit that. Not even his brother would.

Frisk knew that as she watched him run. Her hands fell to her sides, shaking. They were numb from the cold, and had been ever since they entered Snowdin, and now her nose was beginning to hurt. She sniffed, holding back any violent emotions, and took a step forward. There was a flash of blue light, and she briefly saw the outline of two brothers, embracing each other.

She only felt regret because of Chara, who's heart lurched at the sight of it. Why did Frisk have to reset? Dear Asgore, why?


	20. An Encounter

**MachUPB:** _Omigandalf thank you! That makes me very happy because, of course, I want to leap right through the screen and cuddle her too. Youaregoingtohatemyendinghuehuehue_

 **AyeJimmy123:** _Noice Moice_

 **So I'm doubting my chapter plan now. I have 19 chapters, and if I do all the main bosses in one chapter each that will be 6 (?) more? So I might just take my time with this. I don't think I'm ready for Undyne anyways XD. What do you guys think?**

 **And okay I was talking with my friend, who also has a fanfic, and she said our characters were like our babies. Her child is a "loving helping child" and mine is "Is a murderous insane kid with a best friend that is a ghost and is depressed." I felt that was accurate, and proceeded to call Frisk a depressed piece of trash. Cruel, I know.**

 **So then she suddenly realized she was reflecting herself into her child. I just kinda paused and then screamed "OOO SAME!" over text.**

" **SAME!?"**

 **Hahah. Not really I promise guys XD.**

* * *

While Chara mourned, Frisk began to feel her limbs. Or, rather, feel the fact that she was completely numb all over, having lost all sensation to feel pain long into Snowdin. She yearned for relief; certainly pain was better than the numbness. At least pain would cancel out the exhaustion racking her legs and feet. And now, as the human stood there, she began to feel her legs caving in. Fear brought her to suddenly kick into gear, somehow shoving herself forward on her failing support.

Chara watched in tears, wanting nothing more then just go back. That wouldn't happen though, she told herself for the last time. If Frisk's plan was anything close to what she thought it was then Chara might never see home. People always told her to not dwell on the past, but to focus on each day as it came.

But they never said what to do if the past was better then the future. Chara hugged herself, floating after the sprinting human, deciding it would be better to dwell on her life on the surface. Even with Frisk's unease and guilt, there were some nice moments there. They had been friends. Siblings, even. Life had been good.

Even now, as Frisk stumbled into the surprisingly warm Waterfall, the heat hit her like a truck. It felt good and hideous at the same time, and she wished the temperature change had been more gradual, because as she continued to stumble forward her legs began to slow. Her steps dragged and her limbs began to burn. She could barely move her fingers.

Even now, Chara still loved Frisk. She would sacrifice her life for her friend, and if death was what Frisk wanted above all, then so be it. But yet she found herself conflicted. Chara didn't want to die, and even with Frisk as her top priority, she couldn't leave all of the monsters trapped in the Underground any longer. A moment of resolution hit the ghost, and as she watched Frisk's body collapse to the stony ground, she chose the monsters over her sister.

It might have been because of the LV that she watched the next events unfold without offering any comfort to Frisk.

Or, it might have been that in her daze the human had opened their connection, using her strength to send a message across, and accidentally sent all of her pain and emotions over. _Chara help._ She begged, sprawled across the ground, her body shaking with sobs.

But Chara couldn't help. She could only watch, her eyes open as even just a few seconds of the physical and mental pain Frisk was feeling drifted over. Her body shook. She was petrified, and found herself wanting nothing more than to collapse upon the ground and sob too. But the feeling of utter abandonment, floating in the air, was similar to that feeling when she really needed a hug.

Chara always needed a hug.

She could never have one.

Her heart lurched and she closed her eyes, clenching her fists and taking shaking breaths. She knew what Frisk was feeling. It was so overwhelming, and the only word she could find to explain it was _death._ It felt like _death._ Frisk had been so numb that she could never sum up enough emotion to cry, and now so was so inanely numb she could do nothing but cry and mourn. Weep and sob. Feel completely and utterly _worthless._

As much as Chara loved Papyrus, she hated him in that moment. She would always hold a grudge against him for uttering the words that brought Frisk over the edge. She had been teetering on the side of a cliff for years, and he shoved her off with a single phrase. Chara's anger burned fiercely, and she cursed the skeleton in his innocence and naivety.

It spurred her past paralyzation and she floated over to her friend, squatting down and placing her hand out. "Frisk…." she muttered, staring intently at her friend.

The human looked up and met her gaze, tears running down her face. A crooked smile began to grow, and the LV that Chara sent back over numbed her pain. She found the strength to stand and wipe her tears. Her health bar slowly increased and she let out a shaky sigh of relief. Chara was lucky her friend didn't notice her LV was lower than before.

Even though she loved her sister, she couldn't let her go through with this terrible plan.

"Get your soaking butt up and let's go, howabout it?" Chara joked. She hovered in front of Frisk, surprised at how much strength she had to sum up to smile.

It was returned with villainous ease. Frisk nodded, relieved to have someone on her side for once. Chara had always been on her side, of course, but recent events had caused her to doubt their bond. Of course there would always be tension, and she knew Chara didn't agree with her plan but went along with it anyways.

It was shameful how Frisk was treating her friend. She may have wanted nothing more than to die, but that would be killing Chara too, who she hadn't even asked. The whole thing was selfish, but the poor child couldn't think anywhere close to straight. Her thought process was marred and had been burned to ashes, and now was filled with a darkness that forced her to have to focus on one goal in order to remember it. That goal? Death.

Frisk had wanted that for years, and she reveled in how close it was.

Chara wanted to stay loyal, she really did. She would sacrifice her life for Frisk, but she would not sacrifice the lives of others. And maybe not the lives, for the monsters would probably live, but just continue to be trapped in the underground for forever. She couldn't let them endure that, even though Sans might be the only one who knew. No, she would counter Frisk's plan.

She would make it better; give it a good outcome. Hopefully.

Together they set out on the path. It wasn't a very long walk before a familiar looking kid ran up to them, his smile beaming with excitement. He had been older up on the surface, but now was back to his adorable, naive self, overflowing with happiness. Oh, and with thoughts of Undyne.

Their conversation was brief. Frisk had cut it short with a rude, "I don't like Undyne," before walking off. Monster kid wasn't deterred. He ran up behind the two, only seeing the usual one, and skipped a couple of times to keep up. "Hey, man, I know you don't mean that."

"You're probably just jealous. I mean, don't worry, I am too. Like, Undyne is SOOOOO cool! I don't blame ya! I wish I was like Undyne all the time!" He looked up at the human, grinning wide. He understood completely, of course.

Frisk just sighed through her nose. **Don't you dare hurt his feelings,** Chara scolded, glaring at her friend. She received an eye roll in return before her friend stopped and turned to Monster Kid.

Frisk smiled and waved. Monster kid waved his tail. "I know, Undyne is prettyyy cool," she sighed, shoulders drooping. "I could talk about her all day! But you had better get home to your _parents._ " She spoke the word without seeming suspicious, and only grinned like a worried friend.

Monster kid, who had been about to speak, shut right up. He nodded and turned around, running the opposite way. In the process of doing so he fell on his face, but quickly got up to finish his escape. Frisk just chuckled in amusement, though her smile had fallen the moment her turned around. It didn't take long before they were on their way, both equally glad to be rid of him.

Frisk had gotten along well with Monster kid as a child, but he was very annoying at this age. When they had first met it was okay, especially consider Frisk was more immature at that timeline, but after all those timelines she had matured a lot.

With the kid headed in the opposite direction, although he was undoubtedly going to appear soon, Frisk walked on. Her limbs still hurt and her fingers were stiff, but she was more mobile now. It was easier to walk, and he clothes were slowly beginning to dry. She was still cold, and the caves were slow at warming her up completely. They were warm, sure, but only compared to Snowdin.

Chara and Frisk didn't talk much. They just went on and on, or at least it seemed like a long ways, but in reality the walk was brisk. Painful, but brisk. A familiar silence hung over the air, and the human couldn't help but slow as she approached the long hallway where her first encounter with Undyne had given her nightmares.

Dear Asgore, now might even be more terrifying. She was frozen stiff, almost literally, but mostly figuratively, at the thought of seeing Undyne in her armor. The guard hadn't worn it much, if at all on the surface. It had always scared Frisk for reasons she couldn't quite understand.

Now she dug deep into her slowly draining pit of Determination and dragged herself forward. There was a phone ringing, and she dove forward into the bushes. She landed on the ground, covering her head in her hands and shaking, taking deep breaths.

Monster Kid watched with a raised eyebrow, while Undyne didn't even notice. She was busy answering her phone. "Hello?" Undyne growled, crossing her arms.

She had been waiting for Papyrus for several minutes. That was several minutes too long! He knew she hated tardies, and yet here she was with no skimpy skeleton in sight. "Sans? What do you want?"

"What? Is he okay?...Just sick? Are you sure? Does he need a visit? No? How about I bring him some of his favorite spaghetti! I still have it leftover from the last time we cooked." There was a long silence, and Undyne just listened. She felt a pang of sorrow for Papyrus, who had gotten such a terrible fever and failed to notify her. How did skeletons get sick? Magic, obviously.

"Alright. If you say so. Tell him to get better so we can train!" She finished with a shout, pumping her fist in the air for an added effect that no one would ever see. Silly, she knew, but it filled her with enough determination to not get angry that he wasn't here. Papyrus was sick, and he deserved a break.

She leaned back on her spear, sticking her phone back in the pocket of her armor and sighed. It was a pretty nice day in Waterfall. A bit chilly compared to hotland, but hotland was hell so she didn't mind. The silence stretched on, filled barely with the rushing water that gave the place its name. With so little noise, she easily picked out the rustling beneath her.

Undyne went into panic mode, swooping up her spear and marching down towards the main path. There was a drop between her and the pile of grass and she glared, scanning the reeds intently. It took a moment, but she spotted Monster Kid. There was someone else in the grass too, and she stared at them to no avail. Just him and another little brat he had dragged into spying on her, obviously.

She growled, lowering her spear and turning on her heel to march away.

The warrior was long gone by the time Frisk managed to pull herself back to the path, standing and brushing the dirt and mud off her worn-down clothes. Monster Kid was literally shaking when she finally realized he was still there.

He met her gaze and grinned. "Yo….did you see the way she was staring at you?!" Frisk shuddered. She had felt it. "That…...was AWESOME! I'm SOOO jealous! She was just standing there waiting FOREVER and then you just…! C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!" In his excitement the kid rushed off. He fell on his face once again, letting out a small whimper as he used his tail to push himself up. The momentary pain didn't stop him, however, and he continued running.

Frisk couldn't help but let out a long groan. "I've seen her beat me up plenty of times," she sighed, her shoulders dropping in a wave of sadness. THey shook in fear, and she closed her eyes. "Chara I don't want her to kill me again."

There was a sigh in response, and the ghost floated in front of Frisk. **If you get enough LV by the time we get there you won't be afraid anymore.** That was a definite lie. Chara knew Frisk wouldn't get enough LV, and the stuff didn't stop one from feeling fear. It just took their compassion away.

Frisk opened her eyes, nodding, and drew more from her pit of Determination. She walked over to the electrical spark and saved. THey had always been confusing in the past, but reading about Gaster's studies had really helped her know how they worked. That had been such a long time ago, and yet it was in the future.

The two walked onward, looking for more monsters to kill. In all of the timelines she had murdered, which was actually all of them, it had been easy to memorize the number of monsters in each section. She had 18 left, and Aaron was the next victim.

He approached around the corner, flexing his muscles, and then noticed her. His grin grew and soon they were knee-deep in combat. Chara had always been confused as to why Frisk killed her friends the fastest. All it took was one hit, while the others, and Undyne, all took several tries to defeat. Frisk did it because she couldn't stand to fight the scary ones for long. Undyne was the only one so terrifying that she couldn't sum up enough strength.

The battle was still over quickly, and Aaron's dust floated away. Both girls felt the LV roll in, and Chara snuck a little bit away from Frisk without getting noticed. It was getting easier to steal it.

"Frisk, you know how Gaster figured out all of the stuff? Like with the core, and the sparks, and memories?" Chara asked, eyeing the telescope that they passed.

"Yeah, I guess, what about it?"

"He must have been pretty smart."

"Definitely," Frisk agreed. Her steps were more hurried now, having recovered mostly from the cold. Her clothes were still damp, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. She was functioning properly.

"Where did he go then? And why has no one ever mentioned him before?" Chara questioned. She had intended to distract Frisk, but now had a lot of questions herself.

There was a pause, and Frisk's footsteps echoed among the gentle flow of water. "I'm not sure….."

Chara didn't respond. She sighed, staring at the ground. It was a dock now, and the footsteps were hollow and wooden sounding. It was slightly muted because of the water underneath, and she looked up to scan the dark area around them. Waterfall had always been beautiful, but it took on a very dark tone as she remembered where they were. "Frisk watch out!" She cried, wanting nothing more than to grab her friend and drag her back. Frisk let out a scream and stumbled backwards nonetheless, narrowly avoiding the bright spear that came hurling out of nowhere.

Her anxiety skyrocketed and she barely kept her footing, her heart rate beginning to spike. There was not a single second to spare as Undyne appeared, smugness and confident just radiating off her armor. Her spear disappeared and three more appeared above the human, who found the strength to drag herself into a sprint.

 **LEFT! RIGHT! NO STOP! STOP! OKAY GO!** Chara screamed orders through their bond, floating above Frisk and watching the arrows whiz by. She couldn't prevent the spears nearly grazing her friend, but nothing mortally wounded her. At this rate she would get by with a few scratches and bruises, as well as a small about of health, but it would be better then complete death.

She sprinted along the winding dock, Undyne following along at a casual pace.

The grass wasn't that far, and she used a final burst of energy to fling herself forward amongst the tall bushes, straight towards her awaiting friend. The spears whistled overhead and she used their noise to grab Monster Kid and shove him in front of her before diving down in the grass behind him.

The footsteps got closer and she slapped her hands over her mouth, trying to hide her gasping for breath. Her lungs ached and heaved but she tried to stop herself from taking air, only causing her heart to race all the more. She took another deep breath before Undyne stopped, silence seeming to grasp Frisk like a knife.

Her lungs burned and tears stung her eyes while Chara watched. **She's grabbed him!** Chara cheered, relief flowing through her. But Frisk wasn't out of the woods, or grass, yet, and continued to hold her breath while it felt like a knife was skinning her lungs.

Monster Kid was in awe. He couldn't talk. Not just because of his kind friend that sacrificed her want to see Undyne, but by the act that Undyne actually TOUCHED him! He wanted to squeal, but the moment was over as soon as it started and she was walking away.

Hs tail shook with excitement and he finally let out a cheer, turning around to face his friend. Where was she? Oh! There! She was shaking, and he peered closer when she suddenly jumped up, wiping her face and running off through the grass. He followed behind, being careful not to trip, and jumped through the grass, letting out a laugh. "Yo...did you see that?"

He was shaking in excitement too. "Undyne just…...TOUCHED ME! I'm never washing my face ever again…! Man, are you unlucky." He giggled, not realizing Frisk was being driven insane by his endless ranting.

She shut him out, not wanting to listen to the idiotic idolizing. If she been just a little bit closer, she would have been dead. A few moments later he was running, tripping, and then running away again, no doubt going to brag to his other friends. She gasped for breath and exchanged glances with Chara. They waited a bit before continuing on the path.

A couple hours later Frisk stood alone, or at least it would look like it to any passerby, in front of a statue. It stood abandoned, rain pouring over it, and the little child reached up and place the umbrella above it. Shortly after, as she stood waiting patiently, music began to drift from it.

Frisk and Chara both wore sad smiles as they listened intently to the sweet song. It was a beautiful lullaby, and at one point they had made words to it together.

The rest of their journey was made in a melancholic silence, though they hadn't talked much before hand either.


	21. Fishsticks Part 1

**Okay. Um...lemme just….*Positions self on a mountain and squeals.* Okay. So this chapter was originally 6000 words. 6300+ *Squeals again* I actually decided to split in half at about 3,500 words, and edited this half to 4000. So. Im. Like. Really. Happy. Excuse. My. Bragging.**

 ***Coughs* ANYWAY. I hope y'all are as happy with this as i am! Also, a** _ **warning**_ **, there is some bloody stuff up ahead, and proceed with caution if that makes you queasy. It's fairly easy to skip. I didn't get any reviews this past chapter, so nothing to reply to right now.**

 **So, I present to you all, Fishsticks Part 1!**

If blood was something that poured from the wounds of monsters, Frisk would have been a disgusting, smelly mess. Instead her face was coated in a light, fine powder that paled her already unhealthy complexion. She inhaled some of it on occasion, especially right after her blade took the soul from a monster, and went into a small coughing fit. With the LV sucked out of it, dust had a sour, bitter flavor. It tasted of death, which was the alarming smell and air that Frisk had begun to carry with her.

She walked with cold precision, her footsteps smooth and silent and her neutral expression showing only the smallest flicker of emotion when another innocent fell at her hands. Occasionally, when Chara snuck a bit of LV away, they would exchange a couple words as the pressure relieved off of Frisk, subtle enough for her to not notice. It would quickly rebuild though as her desire for LV only doubled.

In other words, she became a psychopath. Her compassion falling to nothing and draining her ability to feel emotion. Yet when she reached the wooden docks, completely unprepared for her third encounter with Undyne, it struck a painful chord within her. Her and Chara moved along noiselessly, but soon that silence was filled with loud footsteps.

It only took two of them and a glance behind her for Frisk to run, even though Undyne was under them. She never understood why there were two levels, but didn't pause to think about it now. Her feet thudded against the wood and she pushed herself forward, not because of determination, but because of fear. It became a dominant factor in keeping wits about her as she ran, avoiding the bright blue lights and spears that surrounded her.

It was a trial to steer clear of them, and a wonder that none ran straight up through her foot. It was perhaps Chara screaming to move that kept her alive again, though not unharmed. She grazed many of the spears, and though not all their edges were sharp the light magic they were made of burned through her thin layers and scarred her skin.

Tears ran down her face, but her expression remained the same. Neutral with a broken soul pouring out of her brown red eyes. It was stupid. It was so stupid she knew, and yet fear spurred her forward. That and the determination to live a little longer.

The end came far too quickly and yet not quickly enough. Chara morphed herself into Frisk's mind, her ghostly appearance fading for the time being as Frisk found herself at the end of the long, twisting wooden dock. She whirled around as quickly as she stopped, her heart beating out of her chest and burning like wildfire.

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened, the tears just beginning to dry on her cheeks.

Undyne couldn't help but grin. Her eye gleamed from under her helmet, and her narrow pupil honed in on the human, who stood helplessly in front of her. She put one foot in front of the other, her glorious armor grinding together and her steps echoing throughout the hollow cavern. There was little light, but it all seemed to reflect of her dark grey armor. It all hinted at the immense strength she truly possessed to even move in such protective, wicked material.

She chuckled slowly to herself, finding the urge to run a spear through the helpless little body almost undeniable. Her steps eventually came to a stop and she stood with her shoulders back, her hair out behind her like a waterfall of blood. The sharp, jagged teeth of her helmet were only darkened because of the shadows surrounding her, but Frisk could still see a hint of the pointed daggers that Undyne smirked with.

She had long forgotten about her goal, focusing completely on Undyne. The emotions with it came piling in. It drew a sob from her, momentarily relieving the burning in her chest as she still struggled to hold them back. She didn't know how much it simply satisfied the fish to witness that sign of weakness.

Indeed, Undyne's eye widened with pride, and she tilted her head downward to only glare harder. Confidence and death radiated off of her soul, and she took another step forward to see the human child's reaction, stomping down as hard as she could. It released a bout of the pent up magic she held, and she whole dock shook because of it.

The reaction she had received was perfect, but the outcome was not.

Frisk's face morphed into one of pure terror as she felt the world beneath her shake and disappear. She froze, a scream catching in her throat as she witnessed the warrior running to try and grab her, and yet the world suddenly disappeared into nothing. She had felt numb before, shutting out all her emotions, overwhelming fear from the prospect of Undyne's wrath, and now, as darkness surrounded her falling form, she felt absolutely nothing. She didn't even care.

And what happens when a soul made up of determination loses all cares in the world? Even with LV the human felt something, though it was all shut off. Even with the deadline goal set in her head, she had determination to die.

Now? She didn't care.

Frisk didn't bloody care.

She deserved to suffer. She deserved to die. There was absolutely nothing that would give her the punishment she truly deserved. With that realization, as the human fell, she felt her soul flickering out. She felt it sputter, she felt a heart wrenching cry from Chara echo throughout her mind, and she nearly felt it die.

What happens when a river loses the water it is made of? It no longer flows as a living source, but becomes a hollow abyss.

Likewise, when a soul made up of determination loses its determination, it dies.

Frisk saw her soul before her, and she knew she was in a battle with herself. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, gravity ended it before she could. Determination had protected her before, but the last thing Frisk felt was jarring pain before everything really was gone.

 **Frisk? Frisk? Are you there? …..**

 **Frisk? Are we dead?**

 **I...felt everything? I saw your soul. I felt everything and saw everything you felt, and then I felt pain….Frisk? Frisk are we stil alive?! Oh Asgore, did you leave me to be trapped in an endless abyss forever?! FRISK! PLEASE! I won't be mad I swear! Just come back….please. Frisk….Frisk I can't leave you...are you still alive? I don't know if we are connected….if you're dead….Your determination was almost gone...dear Asgore FRISK. No. Please. Please. I swear I won't be mad.**

" _It sounds like it came from over here…."_

 **Frisk?**

 **Is that you?**

" _Oh! You've fallen down, haven't you! Are you okay? Here, get up."_

 **F-frisk?...Azzy…?...Please...don't leave me!**

" _Chara, huh. That's a nice name. My...name….is…."_

 **Frisk? Frisk…? What...please….**

 **This isn't funny!**

 **Frisk? I think I see you. Is that you?! That little red light...Frisk? Please come back.**

 **...please…..**

… **.I can't live without you…..**

When she awoke, her determination had returned. It returned in mass amounts, at least compared to what was before, and yet spurred from one thought. Help. For indeed, Frisk's body hurt all over. It wasn't just the frigid ache from snowdin or the numbness of freezing recovery in waterfall, but the burning pain of broken bones.

Broken bones everywhere. Frisk felt like she had broken more bones than both skeleton brothers owned. Her voice came very slowly, but it was surely. It came out in a violent scream that she could still barely hear with her head pounding.

Chara's voice followed soon after. The ghost immediately disconnected from Frisk's body, tears running down her face as she continued to sob. She was relieved that Frisk was alive, but looking at even the smallest bit of blood around her friend broke her and she had to turn away, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut.

Things were twisted in the wrong way. Blood coated the yellow flowers around them and they dripped crimson. Frisk wanted the pain to end, yet she couldn't bring herself to grab food. It hurt to be alive, and she could not stop sobbing and screaming for whatever life she had left. Determination had let her live once again, but there hadn't been enough to protect her. Not even the cushioned pad of flowers saved her, though it might have helped keep her alive.

Frisk cursed them and then, with another broken screech, reached for her pouch and used her hand to dig in it for something, anything, to heal her. She could barely move her other arm, and gagged at the sight of her body as her screaming died to heavy sobs, which shook her shoulders and caused her more pain.

She wanted it to end, grabbing a piece of monster candy and shoving it in her mouth. Something cracked, and Frisk found herself sobbing all over again as her body began to repair herself. Healing had never been to painful. Things snapped into place very violently, and there was nothing to do but grab more monster food and shove it in her mouth She tried desperately to get to a place where it no longer hurt.

She almost shoved the Butterscotch pie in her mouth, but quickly realized that she needed to save them. The human had devoured all of her food, and yet still felt unbearable pain. Her body was in working condition however, and she managed to roll over and lower herself into the water. She left her back and threw herself into the hardest, most agonizing steps of her life. The water felt like syrup as she dragged her feet through.

Her legs were still marred and barely held together and one arm felt like it was being ripped off with even the slighted movement. She knew it was only because of determination that she moved forward, although it was in the fashion of a zombie, limping through the resistant water that stung her wounds. It was the fresh water from Waterfall, but mixed with trash and gunk from the surface.

It took a long time and a lot of determination, but Frisk managed to reach the spark. She reached out and grasped it with as much strength as she could muster, waves of it washing over her. Soon she could pull herself up onto the platform and to a complete standing position. Her hands remained wrapped around the spark.

Her shoulders slowly fell and began violently shaking, sobs pouring forth from her cracked lips. Her broken voice was hardly heard, so quiet compared to the screams from earlier. Everything still hurt, and she wanted to die all over again. Her determination to be better was never going away for one simple reason.

Frisk was never going to get better.

 **Frisk I thought you were dead….** Chara's trembling, shaky thought barely came through and her worry was obvious. Dead meant a lot of things to those two girls. They had died plenty of times, yet neither one's had been permanent. Chara died once, only to be revived by the flaming soul of Frisk, who had died several times and survived because of that very same determination.

The determination that almost ran dry.

It was only because of the pain she had felt that kept her alive.. And now, more dead inside then ever, her determination to end her life took hold. She remembered her task at hand and focused on the LOVE and her goal, shutting out as much as she could.

 _And you're sad because of that?_ Was the response that eventually came. It was so negative that Chara let out another sob, covering her eyes.

All this time she had wanted to be a person again, to feel and touch and live before she died, but now it was just too much. She told herself again and again to do it for the monsters. For her friends and family.

With her own set of determination, she picked herself up, floated behind Frisk, who had just grabbed her bag, and kept her distance. The human couldn't bring herself enough strength to stick to the few platforms so she lowered herself back into the water and began dragging herself forward.

Phantom pain still speared through her body, and she whined on occasion as they moved onward. She grabbed some Astronaut bars from the cooler, not wasting walking time as she devoured one of them. Her health was close to perfect, but she still felt absolutely horrible. Perhaps that would never change.

When she reached the dummy the full force that she attempted to give it wouldn't have squashed a fly, and she pulled her arm back and cradled it, whimpering before turning and continuing to walk. She didn't even look behind her when she heard it's frantic splashing.

"FOOL!" echoed throughout the caves, and the human just shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. This was the one battle she could make it through without getting hurt. "You think you can hurt me?"

She smiled softly.

"I am a ghost that lives inside a DUMMY!" it screeched in anger. She opened her eyes and met its gaze, her smile growing to a confident smirk. "My cousin used to live inside a DUMMY, too. Until…..YOU CAME ALONG!" As she faced the creature its body hovered above the water. It flailed around in absolute rage, turning a deep shade of red in even the smallest of stitches while it's mouth was turned downwards in a permanently terrible frown.

"Not only did YOUR actions cause them to leave their home, but now all of their neighbors are gone too! Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE!"

 **Ain't that the truth,** Chara giggled. It was a pathetic giggle, really, but she felt the urge to get back at Frisk. It worked and she only damaged her friend more.

"You're the worst person I've ever met! I've NEVER been more mad!" It let out a sound that seemed very similar to a fish being strangled, and steam flowed more freely from it as it's form began to violently shake. "My mannequin levels are going OFF THE CHARTS!" The voice was so painfully loud that Frisk actually reached up to cover her ears, shutting her eyes again for a moment as a blinding flash of light followed the screech.

Frisk looked up at it, her smirk faltering as a long silence filled the room and she gazed at the monster. "This...this feeling…" it whispered, a smile growing on it's face. Complete joy seemed to radiate off of it's now complete form, and both humans couldn't help but feel envious. "Eureka. Eureka! EUREKA! Human!" It addressed her head on, floating down so it's bright face was right up against hers. "That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to finally fuse with my body! I'm fully corporeal now! My lifelong dream, realized!

It laughed, voice that once was lined with pure terror full of golden joy. "In return, I guess I won't stomp you! How's that sound?" The dummy might have clapped its hands together if it had any. Its grin was so wide it didn't notice Frisk pull out her blade, dust from monsters and dried blood from her crusting it's tip.

The fusion between the ghost and the dummy was perhaps the only positive thing she had accomplished in nearly all of the timelines and she ended it with a simple slash of her knife. All she heard was a small gasp before the dummy faded away, dust filling the air and mixing with the water.

Her smirk turned into a grin and she let out a small sigh, the knife nearly falling out of her hand as another wave of death washed over her. That was what she had needed, of course. It had been so obvious! The LV made her feel replenished, and she found that cold, killer-like stance once again.

Her face was no longer completely neutral, but an evil grin spread out under those dim red eyes as she pulled herself up onto shore. Her goal had been refocused, and she shut out everything she could, even Chara, to try and ignore the pain that threatened to collapse her walls.

Chara only managed to sneak a little bit of LV before Frisk cut her off, and by the look on her friend's face the levels were getting dangerously high.

Chara had to resort to stealing small chunks of it when Frisk got distracted in the middle of a battle. Even the ghost, when in control, hadn't killed as much as Frisk found herself doing. She left piles of dust in her wake, killing off the people that even Chara couldn't bring herself to hurt with the LV. Absolutely no one was left behind, and her grin only grew as the thirst became more imminent.

Sh had to pray that her friend wouldn't get too powerful to end their connection completely. She just stayed back, trying to play invisible so Frisk would forget about her. She felt trapped and hidden, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt alone. Frisk had always been there, and now she had to hide from the murderous _being_ that had gone completely mental.

Frisk walked on and Chara floated behind, focusing on random things throughout the caverns. It was sometime later when they encountered yet another dead end, something that seemed to be common. Undyne did enjoy cornering her victims.

And just like that, as Frisk turned another corner, they were encased in darkness. Her fear returned, an arrow piercing through her mental walls. There was a small light at the end of the tunnel and she hurried towards it, reaching out to grasp the petal of the echo flower as it whispered softly with a sweet, delicate voice.

" _Behind you."_

And all of the flowers repeated the phrase, lighting up the narrow hallway as the human slowly turned, her grin faltering for the first time in hours.

Undyne laughed and marched forward, tightening her fist around thin air, ready to summon a spear at any moment. She met the human's gaze, challenging them. The very air around her shook in fear, for the warrior was there to kill. Much had changed since their last encounter, and her eye was filled with a precise, murderous look. The human had dusted everybody. She hadn't spared a single soul.

It was worse than she thought.

It was worse than everybody thought.

Her grin faltered behind the mask and she took a deep breath, her voice coming out strong despite the fear that began to claw its way into her soul. "Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our King…. King Asgore Dreemurr….will become a god." She took another step forward, standing as tall as she could.

She wasn't scared. She wasn't scared of this creature that had killed everybody in it's path. She wasn't absolutely terrified of this thing that had made the brave Papyrus flee from a battle. Undyne told herself to stand tall for her king. She would fight to the death for her king. "With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity and give them back the pain and suffering that we have endured."

Frisk's grin turned to a glare, and she in turn took a step forward, tightening her grip on the dusty knife. The blood that had crusted upon it was hers from that painful fall. It wasn't about the barrier anymore. It was about her and Undyne. This would be their last battle, Frisk knew. It would be hard, but she would win. Frisk would not succumb to her fear.

Yet she still trembled in her boots.

"Understand, Human? This is your only chance at redemption…." Undyne's voice trailed off, and she narrowed her eye. This human would NEVER receive redemption. "Give me your soul, or I'll tear it from your body." Her laugh came from out of nowhere, pulling itself out of her chest and releasing itself into the cavern as she lifted her hand, summoning a large spear. Something broke within her and she suddenly broke into a run, pointing the thing straight towards the human.

Frisk knew what would happen next, but she still threw herself back against the wall and over the echo flower as Undyne ran towards her with full power. It had always confused her as to where Monster Kid came from, her eyes had often been closed, and she didn't watch to see what the answer was. The spear never penetrated her skin, and a shrill voice filled the sudden silence. "Undyne! I'll help you fight!"

Frisk was immediately straightening herself up just in time to meet the large, confused eyes of her 'friend.' She grinned. He seemed dumbstruck, and his mouth formed a quick, loud "YO!"

HIs confusion quickly turned to excitement. "You did it! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!" His grin continued to grow as he turned back to Undyne, but something in him snapped. He whipped around to face Frisk, his jaw dropping.

It took a few minutes for the realization to totally set in. He stood between the two, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. His nose scrunched up and it was almost adorable.. "Wait…..who is she fighting?"

The question left his mouth and things quickly began to spiral for Undyne. She let out an extremely loud hiss, and if you've ever heard a fish hiss it's one of the most hideous sounds you might ever hear, and then brought her fist down on Monster. She grabbed him by his thick scales before turning on her heels and dragging him away. "H-Hey!" he exclaimed.

He yelped and struggled, unable to get his footing. Frisk watched him disappear around the corner, and she found herself able to breathe again only when his squeals faded and Undyne's steps were faint.

Chara let out a shuddering sigh, hugging herself. She floated near the echo flower for a moment longer before taking after Frisk, who was already headed towards the vines.

The human lowered herself into the water and waded over to the glowing plant before reaching up and grasping a sturdy section. It took a few minutes, possible the longest time spent climbing it yet, but she made it. Frisk reached the top and grasped the ledge, pulling herself up with shaking arms and letting out a groan.

She felt so weak.

With a few frantic kicks of her legs she rolled up and over before standing. It was pointless to brush any water off for she had to lower herself into more liquid. It was much fresher than that by the dump. The echo flowers lit the way and silence filled the room, save for the peaceful splashing she made.

There was a spark up ahead which she hurried to, jumping up on land and reaching out to touch it. Warmth washed over her and soothed her ache, relaxing her and giving her a fresh set of determination. Her legs were even dry, and she glanced down at her damp shoes before continuing onward.

She stepped onto the bridge ahead, shaking. It wasn't the bridge that was shaking, but her own nervousness was near petrifying her once again as she began to shuffle down the all-too-familiar path. There just wasn't enough time for her to recover between encounters.

The end was near, and she even considering the fact that maybe, just maybe, something had changed. Things had been different this whole timeline, but as a small, timid voice called out, she knew it would not be so. Her grip tightened on her dagger.

Her grin slowly grew.

Frisk swiftly turned around and met Monster Kid's gaze, tilting her head to the side as she stared with bright red eyes. He didn't even catch the warning signals, running over to her with a sheepish smile. "YO!"


	22. Fishsticks Part 2

The small, yellow monster had never looked more timid than in this moment. His usual out-going self had vanished completely, and he walked slowly and tentatively, a confused expression spreading across his face. She stared at him with the wicked grin of a predator. Fear shot down to the tip of his tail and his scales were on edge, but the stripped monster kept slowly walking forward. "Yo!" he repeated again.

The human's grin simply widened. Everything in his body screamed at him to turn around and run, but he kept going. Undyne had told him that his friend had done horrible things, yet he couldn't quite believe it. He hadn't had much for friends before. He needed to give them a chance.

"Undyne told me to stay away from you. She said you….you hurt a lot of people." His tail curled up as he faced her, his wide, guilty eyes meeting the red ones of his human friend.

Monster kid grit his teeth together and stared at the ground. "But...that's not true...right?" The moment it left his mouth a feeling of stupidness overwhelmed him. In the back of his head, Undyne's voice reminded him it was all true, but something else still nagged at him. Silence was the only answer, despite how he had gone against his own conscious

.

A shudder rippled through him."Yo….why won't you answer me? And…." Her head tilted more and he took a stumbling step backwards in fear. "What's with that..weird ex-" he didn't finish, scurrying backwards as she grinned madly at him.

"Oh...oh man…" What had he gotten himself into? His heart was pounding out of his chest, and breathing became a struggle. He turned around, preparing to run, when a painstaking thought struck his heart. Undyne would never run. Undyne wouldn't run! Monster Kid whirled around, his mouth set in a determined line, though his eyes were wide with terror.\

The entire situation had nearly drained Monster Kid's bravery, but as he straightened himself before the human, his courage had reached heights he'd never achieved before. HIs voice still gave away his fear.

"Y-You'd b-better st-stop r-right where you are….Cause if you w-wanna hurt anyone else...you're….You're gunna have to get through me, first." There is a difference between courage and stupidity, however, and the little, helpless monster quickly learned his decision was the latter of those two options. The knife in Frisk's hand had caught his attention.

She held it forward and ran her finger along the edge of the blade, enjoying the horror on his face. He looked just like she felt inside, but there wasn't time for fear anymore. Her arm drew back, the knife shining like a beacon in the dark cavern, and she swung the blade, just like always. And, just like always, she was one second too late as Undyne came barreling through.

The young monster was shoved aside, nearly off the bridge, and he was startled enough to not quite realize what happened until he heard Undyne's voice. It was a pained cry, and he stood as quick as he could to whirl around. He opened his mouth to speak, his whole body quivering.

"Undyne...y-you're hurt…." She swiveled her head and locked his gaze, trying her best to grin reassuringly.

"I'm fine. Go home."

He didn't even trip.

The warrior watched and clutched her waist, chuckling softly. She only turned back to face the monster before her when the kid was far out of sight. Her voice cracked as she spoke, the pain and anger plain as day upon her face. ""It's nothing…" she laughed, shaking her head.

"No...somehow, with just one hit...I'm already…..already…" The pause that followed as her voice broke seemed to draw out. She could barely think straight; the whole situation was impossible. "D….damn it…." The names of her fallen friends rested on her lips, and she silently mouthed them, barely able to speak. "Just like that….I….I've failed you."

There was a soft breeze that drifted along to carry off the dust of Undyne. It gently blew back Frisk's hair from her face as she stared, unable to help the grin that stretched out as her enemy's form disappeared. She knew it wouldn't last, but the temporary victory was utterly satisfying.

Frisk shut her eyes and inhaled through her nose, turning her face upwards. It was peaceful and her grip lessened on the stained knife as she sighed. Her eyes opened as a singular word drifted on the wind. "No…" Undyne protested.

As the human turned her gaze back to the earth, her enemy had begun to reappear. There was a just a shadow that seemed unorganized as different parts faded back in out of focus, sputtering in the wind. Undyne's tension was plain as day as her body began to disperse into the wind.

Undyne clenched her hands and growled. "My body….it feels like it's splitting apart. Like any instant, I'll scatter into a million pieces." Every war wound she had gotten. Every scratch, every bruise, and every scar could not compare to the shredding that she felt within her soul. It was barely clinging together, but she would not die. Not for anyone. Her heart was being ripped in half and it hurt far too much to cry.

"Deep in my soul, there is a burning feeling I can't describe. A burning feeling that WON'T let me die. This isn't just about monsters any more, is it? If you get past me, you'll…." Her voice caught and she inhaled, bringing more life into her. "You'll destroy them all, won't you? Monsters,...Humans...Everyone…. Everyone's hopes and dreams….Vanquished in an instant…"

Hopelessness sputtered into a flame, and that spark of pain Undyne felt in her soul burned in her gaze as she stared down the pathetic human. The air around her began to waver and seemingly melt with the growing anger and determination. "I can feel their hearts beating as one. And we all have ONE goal. To defeat YOU." Her grin grew and her fangs glimmered in the light, a wicked glow to her eye.

Frisk and Chara once again witness perhaps the most powerful show of determination that had ever happened in any of the timelines. They had seen it before, but something was different. Something powerful was different.

 _I have the same goal,_ the human thought to herself as she stepped back, her grip tightening on the handle of her dagger.

Undyne growled. "Human...No, WHATEVER you are, for the sake of the whole world…." The wind around them seemed to speed up, Undyne's hair flowing and fading around her. Her grin had reached it's max, and she readjusted her grip on her spear. "I, UNDYNE, will...strike...you…...DOWN!"

A flash of light seemed to attack Frisk. It burned and pushed her back several feet across the bridge. She covered her face and turned around to try and make it to solid ground as the bridge began to defy gravity. Frisk felt her body slowly growing lighter, and she just barely made it to land as the flash of light ended and a loud, terrifying roar followed.

Her body shook, and that something powerful was very obviously coming from Undyne. When the human turned her lungs froze up and a terrified sob rose in her chest.

Undyne was laughing as she looked over herself. It was an insane laugh, and her head snapped up as she locked in on the human, her wicked smirk growing. Her teeth looked like they could formulate several independent, but deadly, daggers. Several glowing blue arrows swirled all around her. The metal skirt on her armor shot out out just like on the shoulders; in dangerous, threatening ways.

"You're going to have to try a little harder than THAT."

Undyne let out a whoop and brought her gauntlet to the heart on her chest. "This stands for EVERYBODY. We will destroy you, human," she threatened with another laugh before a large spear, with a head near as big as Frisk, materialized in her hand.

Her dark armor reflected the glowing magic, but her hair somehow only seemed redder. She looked like a beast from hell with fire lashing at her back.

Frisk shook and brought up her blade, gripping it with both hands as she set her feet apart, bracing herself. She met Undyne's broken gaze and it brought her enough courage to lunge forward. As precise as her attack was, it did little damage to the armor. Undyne growled, though her smirk remained, before sending a barrage of arrows at her enemy.

The human raised her arm, preparing for a shield.

Nothing came, and her eyes widened in fear as the attack rained down. The battle had been fair before, but it seemed Undyne didn't feel obliged to provide her with protection. Frisk reached for her knife, but the arrows were already reigning down on her.

The first impaled itself in her side, shoving her backward a few feet before it disappeared, leaving a gaping wound. Blood began to run from it and Frisk let out another yell as she finally got a grip on her knife; another arrow had pierced her back, shoving her forward. It narrowly missed her spine.

Frisk drew her own weapon and began to use it as protection. ]She touched the blade to an arrow and it quickly faded into nothing. Tears ran down her face, but she forgot her pain in a sudden bout of confidence.

She swung around and hit another, but one dug into her side again. She grit her teeth together, frantically spinning and twisting in a frenzied dance as more hit and damaged her.

The blood was beginning to overwhelm Frisk as she found a spot to attack. Her feet carried her towards Undyne, leaving splats of blood, before she swung and hit the armor with a knife. Undyne simply laugh and shoved her off, bringing down another hail of arrows that continued to push the human back.

There wasn't a spot on her torso that wasn't bleeding now. It was excruciating, and the fact that she was still alive seemed a puzzle nobody would ever solve. Her bag was discarded on the ground nearby, but she had shoved some candy into her pocket. She grabbed a piece and popped it in her mouth, wincing as the wounds began to heal. It brought vicious adrenaline to her attacks and defense.

Several arrows rained down, and she spun on her feet, barely taking time to tap her dagger to them before spinning again and again to block another attack. Less damage was done, but it still hindered her performance. Frisk gasped for breath, her chest heaving. The wind was howling around them, and she felt her own determination spinning in her soul.

She would WIN this fight

The two danced back and forth, raining down arrow after arrow and lunging again and again. They were two separate fires, both fueled with the determination that would, ultimately, lead to the same goal. They both wanted Frisk dead.

The human didn't miss Undyne once, and it was slowly beginning to take it's toll. Chara had to admit that Frisk was doing good for her first battle with Undyne.

That is, until Undyne switched things up. "Try this, punk!" She laughed, lifting her hands in the air. Nothing happened for a moment, and the human looked very confused when a glowing light beneath her caught her attention.

She let out a scream as arrows shot up and tore through her body, directly breaking her soul into bits. Chara screamed too, sucked into a vortex of darkness as her 'friend' died.

And then the endless cycle began.

Arrow after arrow, injury after injury. Frisk began hallucinating blood battle after battle as she began to fall into a helpless repetition of death. Each was more painful then the last, and it seemed that Undyne got more creative into the battle as how she would rip the human form to shreds.

It was funny, because she had won so many times, and yet would never really _win._ It was the sacrifice needed for Frisk to accomplish her goal, and she would not give up.

Red tinted the corners of her vision as she got more and more violent, throwing as much force as she could into each stab and punch that she could manage. Her whole soul was thrown in the battle, and it was lost many times in horrible, unexplainable ways. Her body screamed and tears ran down her face, but she fought on.

Eventually Chara took control.

It was after a long debate between a battle that she finally convinced Frisk to let her take control. It was something they hadn't done often, and with the LV powers that the human held it might be more difficult, but Chara had fought Undyne many times before. She had the battle in muscle memory, and watching it over again several times was just what she needed.

It took a lot of convincing. Frisk wanted the LV, and she had been feeling dastardly hunger and frustration every single time she lost, but it was as simple as relinquishing control of her body. It was just like the old days. Chara in control and Frisk trapped inside her own body, except now both had a violent side.

They both had more LV then the world had ever seen. It was wise of Chara to sneak some away while she could. She even stole some more as they switched, strengthening her desire as much as she could.

Chara enjoyed her new body. She tested it out for a bit, grinning and hopping around to warm up, ready to face Undyne on her own. She had some of her own canines and opened her mouth, running her tongue along her teeth with a small giggle as she glared the warrior down. It would be disheartening to see the warrior dead, but she had her own plan to accomplish.

"You're in my way," she sighed, before running with the knife, ready to strike. Frisk had been a sturdy warrior, but the fight that proceeded between Chara and Undyne was so mind boggling that nobody quite processed the quick actions behind them.

The whole sequence was in muscle memory for the ghost, who moved around with ease, dodging and leaping over the onslaught. Her own damage was little, but she wasn't uninjured. Blood trickled down Frisk's body in several places, but it wasn't much compared to the dust that drifted off Undyne's.

They eventually came to fight head on, Chara with but a measly knife and Undyne with her glowing spear of light. It only took a few tries to reach this point, and she was determined to win this time once and for all. They spun around each other, trading back attacks, grimacing as their own health got lower and lower.

Chara's health replenishers had long run out, and so she focused as much as she could upon dodging the spears that were thrown her way every other second. The wind seemed to get louder as Undyne stepped back, surrounding the human with spinning arrows.

She easily weaved her way around them, though her steps were weighted down with exhaustion. Blood dripped in her path as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She raised her knife, and didn't fail to hesitate and plunge it into Undyne. Her laugh was louder then the sound of arrows cluttering to the ground and disappearing, but it quickly turned into a sob.

The knife was directly in the center of the giant hear emblem, which now was riddled with cracks. Chara looked up to meet Undyne's gaze, and as pleasing as the LV she began to feel was, guilt overwhelmed her. It felt **so** good, but _so_ very wrong.

Yet her smile grew as she relaxed into Undyne, who was coughing up dust. "Damn it...so even THAT power...it wasn't enough…?" Her confusion was understandable. All of the souls she had felt beating in unison hadn't been enough to win over this beast. She would never know how many times she had felt victory, and just how pointless it all had been.

Her body began trembling, and she let out a weak laugh. It slowly built to a chuckle, and Chara soon realized that tears were running down the blue scales of her previous role-model's face. She had looked up to Undyne once before, and now she did again, though it was with a blade plunged through her soul.

Fear broke through the violence and she stumbled backwards, the knife still stuck in the fish. "If you think…..If you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong." Undyne grinned now, her shoulder shaking as the amusement intensified. "Cause I've….i've got my friends behind me. Alphys told me that she would watch me fight you….and if anything went wrong...she would…"

Her voice caught and she choked on her laughter, her eyes burning as she stared at the little human rat. It was a rat, that was what it was. With those bright, beady red eyes and dark hair, dusted with white powder. "She would evacuate everyone…By now she's called Asgore and told him to absorb the 6 human souls." She grinned.

She continued to grin as her form began to sizzle and melt. It burned as her flesh melted off, and her eyes blurred with even more tears. Her words became a jumbled mess, but Chara caught the jist of it with Undyne's last phrase. As the fish slowly disappeared into dust, her words carried on the wind to the nearest echo flower, which dutifully began to repeat the words.

It didn't take long for every glowing blue flower to mutter the last words of Undyne the Undying. " _This World will live on."_

It was repeated over and over again, simply getting quieter as the human dropped their knife. They followed shortly after, collapsing to the ground from exhaustion. Chara relinquished control just as she began weeping from the pain, allowing Frisk to control her form once again.

The body didn't move, however, and the tears continued even as LV rolled in. It wasn't necessarily because of the death that they wept, but the adrenaline had kept them up and moving. It held back their fear and and now as it faded away everything came piling atop that small form.

It felt like a giant ton of bricks had fell upon her, and Frisk found herself sobbing once again in the Underground. And, just like all of the other times before, it was a painful sob.


	23. Internet problems T-T

**As much as I love you guys, there is no way I'm writing a chapter on a kindle. My computer's internet is idiodic currently, and has been for the past five or so days.**

 **So I'm not apologizing for my bad internet, it doesn't deserve anything nice, but I'll apologize because I can't get this weeks chapter done. I'll try to get an especially long one out next Wednesday if I can!**

 **3 Stay amazing, and happy Valentine's day!**


	24. Spaghetti?

**HAHAHAHAAH. ISN'T THIS GREAT. *Sobs* I tried guys. My mind has diiieedddd thiss week i'm so sorry. But here...have a short trash chapter. I would have loved to add more, but...I'm sorry. Here you go. It was thanks to my friend Poptart. She saved my soul again in more ways then one.**

 **Also, to all you kindle lovers, I write lots on my kindle. LOVE my kindle (Though I abuse it...gravity made the screen crack though in my defense) It's just that my story is on Google Docs, and I can't get that on my kindle. But, as you can tell, internet is working again! So...in my defense...**

 **I don't have an excuse for a short chapter I'm sorry. Have cake.**

* * *

Exhaustion.

Eventually, grief and sorrow fell off of both girls, leaving only a drained body and soul. The walk towards hotland was short but perilous, seeming like miles instead of minutes. The short time gave Chara time to think

She missed happier times.

There were plenty of fond memories to look back on. Nights at the dinner table were particularly enjoyable when everybody had a free evening. All of their friends sitting together to enjoy Toriel's delicious food, their voices overlapping one anothers' with joviality.

Those were happier times

She delved deeper into those memories as an attempt to block out the world.

Her breathing would hitch on occasion, but her smile seemed to grow. Well, not really grow, per say, but it existed. The overwhelming thoughts from Undyne and the phantom pain she just hadn't been able to ignore began to fade.

It was comforting. Remember all of the fun, carefree times between them. Even when Frisk carried such a huge burden, her friend had helped ease the pain. Sans felt the same, Chara knew he did.

Chara hugged herself and glanced at Frisk. Her voice warbled as she finally found the courage to speak. She was afraid of how her friend would react, but it would be best to try. There might be a chance to offer that temporary peace to Frisk as well."H-Hey...remember when Papyrus….got spaghetti up his….nose?" The comment died away into silence.

The two had been walking in uncomfortableness for a while. Undyne was long gone, and they had just entered into the steaming hotland. Frisk's only visible reaction was reaching a hand up to wipe her sweaty brow.

More silence.

The ghost felt uneasy, but she continued to watch Frisk with a hopeful expression. Was there still a little bit of her old friend? Her answer did come, just when she was about to give up. It came with a smile.

Sure enough, Frisk's lips had curled up into a small smile, a sure sign of amusement. A chuckle even escaped her lips. Her gaze was riveted upon the floor, but Chara beamed triumphantly. There was hope!

"It doesn't even make sense. The skeleton doesn't have lungs! Everybody was confused….but then they noticed the spaghetti was glowing blue." Chara chuckled at the memory. "At least I did. Did you notice, Frisk?" There. Now she was directly communicating with Frisk, and hopefully there would be a worded response.

Once again, silence. This time Frisk's smile grew even further. Her gaze lifted up from the ground and she momentarily glanced at Chara. Her head bobbed up in a nod before she returned to staring blankly at the ground.

The ghost sighed. **I'd ask what's wrong but it's pretty obvious. I know you've got the LV and all, but stop treating me like trash.**

There was a bit of static that entered into her mind. It was from Frisk, but unintelligible. Similar to that of a grumpy teenager grumbling rebelliously. No, that was exactly what it was. **I'm sorry. Okay?**

 _Sorry for what, Chara? It's not your fault._ Anyone watching the two at that particular point in time might have found the expression of the ghost quite odd, if they could see her, that is. It was a mixture of joy and panic, while Frisk remained completely neutral.

Neither of them quite knew what to do. Frisk had already spoken her mind, and Chara couldn't quite conjure up words in a short period of time as a response. It was when they reached the next spark and another wave of dreadful determination washed over them that she could finally voice her thoughts.

Her chest rose as she inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry I didn't stop you from making a stupid decision. I could have done better. We both know that you don't want to be in this situation."

 _I want to die!_ Finally more expression came from the human. She cast a sharp glare in the direction of the ghost. Wisely, she kept her mouth shut. There were still the rumored video cameras keeping watch, and she'd only look much more insane.

"Yes but you CAN'T DIE. We both know that too, so what's the point of trying? At least there you had friends to support you. They were reluctant at first but they would support you!" Things were getting heated. Literally and figuratively, considering that lava was surrounding the rocky pathways.

 _You don't know that! You saw Papyrus' reaction! I betrayed his trust._ Frisk crossed her arms and exhaled, shaking her head slowly. _There isn't any going back from that._

"You don't know that," Chara lifted her hands and used them as puppets, her voice whiny and judgemental as she mimicked Frisk. "Yeah, I don't. But YOU don't know that either! He totally would have forgiven you. YOU had a moment of weakness and went completely mental, and here we are. I apologized, but maybe you should apologize to me."

Frisk grunted. Her lips parted, her tongue dry and clammy. She smacked her lips together and then spoke, her strangled voice cracking out of her throat like a snake out of an egg. "M-maybe I shouldn't."

"And why not, Frisk?" Chara was quick to turn on her so-called friend. She had her transparent hands placed on her hips and stared down at the human with narrow eyes. The fact that Frisk wasn't mentally communicating any longer didn't seem to phase her for a moment. "Why don't you tell me why you shouldn't apologize."

Frisk paused. That seemed like a perfectly good answer, but the ghost didn't say anything. She merely glared as the human proceeded to walk around her and towards Alphy's lab.

 _I can't tell you why._

"EXACTLY!" She whirled around and pointed a finger at Frisk. "You didn't even consider what I felt about going and reliving this HELL that you wanted to try out again! What even is your plan?" Her gaze might have burned holes in Frisk's shaking back if she was superman. Chara seemed to freeze, but her eyes slowly widened. Her frown twitched as Frisk's quiet whimpers reached her ears.

"Do you ever just….wish we could hug, you know? Maybe...I could sum up enough courage to apologize then. I mean I FEEL bad…" The croaking sounds from her throat were mixed with broken laughs. Her body tensed as if she was about to speak. There was a moment of connection between the two, some Chara had yearned for ever since a few days before the reset.

Another glimmer of hope sparked in her soul. She had been running this conversation on dry courage. Sadly, that little bit of promise was quickly broken as she realized the tenseness from Frisk was because of the event about to take place.

Her thought barely had time to register through their connection when an explosion echoed throughout the lab. **Frisk what is your plan?**

There, of course, was no answer. Mettaton now had the human's undivided attention, much to his enjoyment, and Chara sunk back into her thoughts. She hugged herself once again and let out a small whimper, choosing to block out the pointlessly familiar conversation. It was all really pointless now.

At least on the surface there had been a sense of adventure. New things happened each day, and there was so much enjoyment throughout the unknown. Frisk was an idiot. A blood selfish Idiot, and Chara was willing to take any means necessary to stop her plan from coming into action. Whatever it was, even though the decision had obviously been made irrationally, it wasn't good.


	25. Lights! Camera! And- wait, who broke it

**Heyall! I'm going to Hawaii next week….I'm uploading now, and I'm trying my very hardest to write another chapter BEFORE I leave, and then I can upload it from Hawaii, but I don't know if I can get that done. Hopefully I can at least get something short up for y'all! 3**

 **I don't think I'll be able to get it done, and I'm really sorry the chapters have been short. I've been trying to focus on quality, and with it the length kinda died down. After my vacation Ill make sure to get up a long one. (It'll be a few weeks 3 Thank you for your patience and all that) If you got questions ask away! :D**

Mettaton was such a laugh. He had always been, so it was such a shame that Frisk had decided to kill him as well. Their conversation was short, and she ignored most of his little speech about Alphys being a genius. He would be gone soon too, crushed under her blade, and then she would be closer to her goal. So much closer.

In reality, she probably had enough LV to finish the thing once and for all. Chara had some as well, quite a bit, actually, but Frisk still hadn't come to that realization. With both of their powers combined, they could completely obliterate the timeline and build a new one from scratch. Even outside of the Underground wouldn't be protected. That wasn't the plan, though. Frisk simply wanted to die.

Chara wanted to make things right.

The two knew they weren't on the same level, but they didn't even know the extreme levels of disagreement. Chara's plan contrasted with Frisk's, and the human knew her friend didn't agree, but she had no idea Chara was going to try and steal it right out from under her nose. Their friendship was strung together by the simple threads of their memories.

It didn't stop Frisk. If anything, it spurred her onwards and through Hotland. There were remnants of obvious abandonment everywhere. The place was deserted and the procedure was obviously hurried. Alphys had seen everything Frisk had done. She knew and had witnessed her crush dying, as well as all of the other monsters of the underground.

The dinosaur had always been the strongest monster of them all. But now, as Frisk's mind wandered back to Alphys, she realized that this situation would have set her off the edge. That as soon as everyone was safe, she would break. Her vision blurred at the thought of it.

Maybe that was what all the monsters did. Maybe they all lost hope as an unstoppable human killed their brothers and sisters, their friends and family. And now, as they clung together with strings of panic, their hero was gone too. Few monsters were lucky to make it out alive, and even luckier to have friends there with them. Alphys had been their saviour, and nobody would have expected it.

"Frisk you never answered my question." Chara let out a sharp sigh, the question coming back to her mind just as Frisk landed from an air vent. The human stumbled forward a bit before turning back to glare.

"What question?" she snapped hastily in response. Despite her curiosity, she continued to walk onward, finally weaving her way past the patterns of wind vents.

The annoyance was obvious in her slurred, careless words. Chara crossed her arms."About your plan. I deserve to know, at least." She scrunched up her freckled nose and floated a little bit quicker.

"Why?"

A soft growl of irritation left her. She felt like a wild dog, and bared her teeth at the path in front of them. "Why? There are a lot of reasons 'why." Frisk was behind her now, but she turned to hold out her fingers and began to count away. "Because you didn't ask me, you're being selfish, if you're plan involves killing me I should know. There is a few." She huffed and turned back around with her hands on her hips.

Frisk snorted. "Sure, you might deserve to know….but…" Her expression fell. The dark red eyes that were constantly glazed over seemed to show a bit of sadness amongst the fire reflected in them.

"Yeah, I do. But what, Frisk?" The disgust rolled throughout her. This human, this human that had been her friend, was a terrible person. She was a monster. "But you're too selfish?"

Her frown deepened. "But I don't trust you."

"HAH! You, don't trust me?! That's a laugh, Frisk. I am soooo amused right now." She rolled her eyes, her face burning with rage. It was idiotic. For all of the LV she had, there was plenty of emotion stirring in her heart. She was trying, wasn't she? Trying to make Frisk smile, try to be friends again.

To recall the good memories they had and lighten the mood. She was trying so, so hard, and yet Frisk didn't 'trust' her. It was hilarious. So _hilarious_ that her heart began to boil with an unquenchable rage. Chara wanted to strangle Frisk.

"Yeah, I guess." Frisk walked past the ghost, who was frozen in place. She ignored the pain obvious in Chara's expression, and the fists clenched so tight her nails might have drawn blood if she had a body. Frisk didn't really care.

Mettaton was on her mind, and she'd get to him soon enough. A little muffin patiently awaited for her arrival, however, and she was determined to get there with plenty of time to spare. A little bit of spider tea never hurt anyone. It was perhaps one of the most interesting, and maybe even challenging battles she had faced. Undyne was near impossible, as was Sans, though he was out of the way already, but the Spider Queen's attacks varied each battle.

They had an order, but the positioning was always different. Muffet was a worthy opponent. It was too bad she would die.

Well, not really. It was for a wonderful cause.

Frisk blinked at a yellow spark before reaching her hands into the glowing material. A wave of warmth washed over her, and she tilted her head back to sigh contentedly. Determination. It kept her from dying, but it stopped her from giving up. She would never give up as long as she lived, considering her goal was to die.

Her eyes burned and she blinked back tears as a sudden wave of sadness replaced the warmth. Frisk immediately recoiled from the spark in disgust, her eyes narrowing with anger. She didn't need sadness. Right?

She reached up to wipe away a tear, but it had already dried from the heat.

 _Stupid._

The thought was so strong that it drifted over to Chara. Her anger had been blowing up like a balloon, but that simple comment was a sharp needle that broke her heart. The comment hadn't been meant for her, but this fact was unknown. She shut out the world and withdrew to herself, plotting her revenge.

Frisk simply continued on, knowing what was to happen next. The final battle with Mettaton. It brought a shiver of pleasure to knock down his bluster and bragging, going on and on about how smart and talented he was. It didn't matter for in the end Mettaton still faced her, and Mettaton still lost.

Muppet had been as easy as her spider cakes. It took a couple tries, but she soon overtook the Spider Queen. Her minions scattered into the darkest corners of the underground to mourn.

Even Frisk's amusement died at watching Mettaton's comedies. Both of the competitors were rushing through their encounters, anticipating the future fight. They wanted to get on with it already. At least Frisk did. Mettaton, as much as he wanted to hurry onward, was enjoying drawing out the drama.

Chara hadn't talked at all, but Frisk tried to ignore the uneasiness in the back of her mind at the fact. She was tempted to try communicating, but it might prove that Chara was ignoring her. It was better to leave the silence as it was, obviously.

The hotel was magnificent. Even though it was nearly abandoned, and obviously hastily evacuated, the floors sparkled. It was a stark contrast compared to the last time she had seen it. Which, ironically, was in the future. Everything had been dark, gloomy, and coated in a thick layer of dust. While it wasn't necessarily spotless, indeed there were a few odd colored stains here and there, it was still very grand. Yet Frisk didn't care.

She blanked her way right through the process of buying some supplies and then hurried onward. Her footsteps didn't stop until she reached the elevator. And after that she was almost there.

The human paused at the door, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. This was the last one. The very last battle before Asgore. Taking in a shaky breath, she clenched her fists, berating herself for feeling that disgraceful fear once again. Undyne had terrified her enough. This would be easy. With a small push, the door opened.

And in stood the robot, waiting for her. Even though he remained motionless, there was a dramatic flair to the situation. If the square brick of a television could grin, he would have had a huge one spread across his face.

Because he remained unmoving, Frisk had to bring up the action. She waltzed in with calculated grace, a growing, confident smirk upon her face.

"My, my. Look who finally arrived."


	26. Fate Before Fashion Before Fame?

**Yooooooooo! Hawaiii wassss AWESOMMEE! Thanks for the wishes, and all you patient people who sat here waiting (I wish XD) while I frolicked in the ocean and saw turtles. Yes, I went snorkeling and saw a sea turtle, my favorite animal. It makes me happy! Review time!**

 _ **Uncle Balthazar:**_ **Also, I haven't heard of Undertale Mob. Sounds...interesting, however XD.**

 _ **MachUPB:**_ **Thank you! It was great! I've looked forward to this chapter as well ;)  
**

 ** _AyeJimmy123:_ Just like you.**

"After our first meeting, I realized...something ghastly."

The human remained neutral, but the anticipation leading up to the battle had faded. She found herself in a familiar position. Bored. He would have to hurry up so they could fight already.

"You're not just a threat to monsters, but humanity as well." He seemed a bit taken back by the amused snort he got as an answer. But it only proved his theory more. He lifted his hand to his mouth dramatically. "Oh my. That's an issue. You see, I can't be a star without an audience."

What else were people for, of course, but to watch and cheer him on.

There was a long pause, and he lowered his hand to stare blankly at the whole new level of monster in front of him. Alphys flashed through his mind and he momentarily lost his confidence, but something spurred him onward. _Alphys._ "And besides. I have some people….I want to protect." His number one fan. He didn't know where she was, but this fight was for her. He hoped she would watch his victory.

Frisk stepped forward impatiently, glaring. She an idea to where his thoughts had wandered. Her own had been there not long ago. A moment of weakness, of course.

"Ha ha ha. Eager as always. But don't touch that dial, there is something you haven't accounted for. As any _true_ fan would know, I was first created as a Human Eradication Robot. It was only after becoming a star that I was given a more...photogenic body."

"I know."

He seemed taken by surprise from the small voice. He had heard it before, but bitter hate lined the frail, broken words. Metatton hesitated. "Well...if you already know, I would suggest not coming any closer. Do so, and I'll be forced to-"

She took a step forward, and amused smile beginning to grow on her face.

"Force to-"

She repeated the action, her shoulder beginning to shake with restricted laughter.

Mettaton did not share in her amusement. "At least let me finish!" He stopped talking for a moment to see what she would do, but her red gaze just locked onto his form. "Showyoumytrueform." Spitting it out in one blurt, he finally got his point across. He still watched the human, who didn't move since he finally got the less-dramatic-than-hoped-for words out. Her grin grew.

Mettaton froze.

And she took a step forward.

His wires were tense, to put it properly, but he couldn't help but feel glee. He could prove himself to everyone. Save the whole world from the monster who, with the utmost pleasure, had killed all in her path. It was hard to feel confident when even Undyne had failed, but he managed to do so.

Frisk stumbled backwards as lights and smoke suddenly filled the room, she reached up to shield her eyes from the stinging gas. It brought her to a fit of coughing, but didn't last long. Soon the stuff had faded, the circling lights came to a stop, and Mettaton let out a metallic laugh. He whirled around, holding his arms out to the side as he struck a pose.

The human matched his confident smirk. He seemed amused. For indeed, the robot now had a face. He had a whole body, in fact, with quite a curvaceous form. High pink heels accented his new height, which was quite tall in comparison to the little human. She briefly recalled trying to measure up to him before on the surface. As a teenager, she still hadn't been near as tall as him or Papyrus.

But now, as a child, she had to look up to him. Physically, of course. For not now, not ever, would she mentally look up to him again. Their friendship had been strong, and it didn't take much for him to earn her respect, but here they were enemies. Her eyes still stung from the gas, but now her throat ached too. Her last moments with all of these creatures were as enemies. Even Chara, her beloved friend, was beginning to doubt her.

He was mostly black. The colorful lights added different color highlights to his body, but there wasn't much for pink highlights. HIs boots, a few buttons, and that was it. The rest of him was black and silver,

They stared at each other silently, both radiating pride, when finally Mettaton attacked. Frisk barely had time to process what was happening before his leg flew towards her. She ducked, but the end of the boot smacked her forehead, leaving a strong burning sensation. Frisk growled, and ran at him with a raised blade.

HIs weak spot was his heart, just like Undyne. But, unlike Undyne, it was easier to hit. In his pacifist form it took the loss of all of his limbs before she was able to strike him, though she obviously didn't then. But now it caught him unawares. And now he died with one simple hit, just like all the rest.

"I guess you don't want to join my fan club?"

Not now.

Frisk had been one of his most loyal friends and fans. Frisk and Chara both, but not now. Chara still wept for her friend. She hadn't lost her compassion from the drug, far from it, in fact. It only made losing her loved ones a last time. It might be the last thing she would ever of all of them, if things didn't go well. Reluctantly she drew a little more LV from Frisk. She felt a tiny bit better.

Frisk just walked on, while Chara mentally prepared herself for her father.

That would be the hellfire that brought them down. It would burn Frisk over and over again as they fought for victory, and eventually won. She would die more then ever, just like she always had, but that LV was pretty powerful. In a different body, a body that might be able to channel it, the stuff would be instantly lethal as always. Frisk, however, was merely human and generally got injured fairly easily.

At least, that was how it was supposed to work. Really? What really happened? The battle that really happened wasn't even a battle. It was murder. It was Frisk murdering once again in cold blood. Or, more properly, dust.

Chara shuddered at memories of dust running through her fingers. She had been there before and done it; completely bathed in the drug. The lack of compassion and the utter joy she got from witnessing and _causing_ the loss of all the lives. Controlling Frisk had been so satisfying. Hearing that little human's voice calling out and trying to stop her from massacring the innocent.

She inhaled. It was terrible. Horrible. And now, watching Frisk relive, no, reenact that, was traumatizing. The guilt was overwhelming, and yet it was still not completely her fault. Frisk came here. Frisk wanted to murder everybody to get her way.

How….how could anyone ever forgive her again?

Chara, despite herself, couldn't quite bring herself to. She knew it was selfish and maybe a bit unethical, but yet it all made so much sense in her head. Before, on the surface, her friends would have forgiven her. Mistakes can be great, but they can be forgiven as well. But this wasn't a mistake. This was Frisk fighting for her own way, and doing some bad stuff to get it.

Some _real_ bad stuff.

She exhaled and choked back a sob. The LV was in her, but she didn't want to let it out. Her supposedly last moments should have been kept in freedom. Frisk wanted to end herself, and that meant Chara would die too, so what use was there in fighting?

What use was there in fighting? Every use. She had to give everything she had to stop her old friend, and bring things back to normal. Maybe not exactly normal, but to a better world. The monsters had to know everything. They needed to know what was in her mind during these ordeals. During the first neutral runs.

Frisk had explained it, but could they really understand? Forgive, yes, but understand?

Never.

Frisk had been fueled with this burning desire their entire adventure. She was a stove, burning up all of the LOVE and setting it free into her system to eradicate all hesitations to complete her goal.

Chara, exhaling sharply, forced herself to let it go. She had stocked up on so much, sneaking it subtly away from Frisk, but now was the time to let it go. Nothing would hurt anymore. It wouldn't hurt when she murdered her own friend to stop her. Ripped out her soul and got the power she needed to make things _right._

Two wrongs don't make a right. There wasn't a single point in time that wrongs made a right. But, even after many wrongs, doing your best to correct it can lead to forgiveness, and that was all anyone should ask for. That was all Frisk should ask for, but Papyrus led her to believe that no one forgave her. Or ever would.

Chara would do her best to make everyone see. That was her goal. The reason she had determination? Because of her goal. And her goal? Stop Frisk.

Stop her _friend_ from ending it all and making a terrible mistake.

And the irony of all this revelation was that Frisk didn't even notice the change. She just walked on, without a single care. Ready to fight. Even she couldn't quite suspect that although Mettaton had been the last battle before Asgore, the king was the last before something far greater awaited.

Chara couldn't wait.

But something, or rather someone, was stopping that from coming quickly. He was slowing things down a ton. A skele _ton._

Sans had promised to not fight Frisk if she spared his brother, and he did intend to keep that promise, but he was there to hear echoing footprints. He was waiting as she appeared out of the shadows, tilting her head curiously at his shadowed form. The skeleton stepped forward and grinned.

"knock knock."

The wicked grin on the human's face twitched.

'you're supposed to say 'who's there,' but since I suppose you're in a bad mood, i'll just skip the punch line." There was a pause, and he held his hands out, palms facing upwards as he shrugged. "then again, I am a bit thirsty." No applause. No nothing. He didn't really expect anything, but there was a hint of a reaction from the human. Simply another twitch, but it was something..

"Listen kid-" he moved to stick his hands back in his pockets, but she spoke, causing him to freeze in surprise..

"What do you want?" Her lip curled in a snarl, and her voice came out broken and low. It reminded him of a snake. SHE reminded him of a snake..

"Well…." he finished the earlier movement with a flair. HIs head tilted downwards, but he continued to stare directly into those dark red eyes. "I've been thinking lately."

"Isn't that the best joke you've made."

He continued with a sigh. "we made a deal, but there were some other negotiations in there. I personally think that if...you know...ya planned on destroying the timeline…." He snapped his head up to stare at her more directly. She didn't react, but he knew that had to be her plan. Why else would she go through murdering all of her friends all over again? He knew they were her real friends, she wasn't completely evil, so there had to be some reason. "i think then i might have to...break our little deal in order to, say, stop ya? It would be sad if i didn' send my last moments trying to stop a little brat such as you, wouldn't it be?"

"Just as sad as you. What are you getting at?" The annoyance was obvious in her voice, and she narrowed her eyes.

He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers, summoning a small blue flame. "I'd like you to stick around for a while. maybe have a nice _chat._ " It didn't take much for him to surround her completely with the magic, and drag her to a sitting position on her knees. She fought valiantly, but soon he had joined her in a criss cross seating pattern. 'explain, bucko."

She didn't answer.

'isn't this a _humerus_ situation."

No response.

"no? doesn't tickle your funny bone?"

She narrowed her eyes

"you look so sternum!"

A growl.

"kid. I've got plenty more up my sleeve and the guts to tell them." Sans winked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His gaze never left the human, who continued to glare. "i'm making a _bonea fide_ attempt here." He was, in all honesty, expecting to sit there for a couple of hours before she cracked.

Frisk had other plans. She was in a hurry, and the unexpected visit from Sans wasn't about to slow her down too much. If she could have, Frisk would have sat there for hours. Seeing her patience wins over Sans would have been extremely satisfying, but it wasn't going to happen now. Or ever.

Also, with Chara begging her to just explain it already, she didn't have much of a choice.

"What do you want to know?"

His grin widened, if it was even possible. Sans straightened and arched his back, his bones stretching and cracking during the process. Step one had been accomplished. "Are you planning on resetting the timeline?" There was no need to go easy on her. Even though the reason Sans was here was because he suspected that was happening, her answer still surprised him.

"Yes." Her expression had remained neutral the whole time, but she slowly began to grin. Her teeth glinted and she tilted her head, still ignoring the blue magic that held her in place upon the floor. "But you doubt my reasons?"

He leaned forward before pausing in consideration. 'yeah.'

"And," her grin had fallen into a confident smirk, "I'm curious about your reasoning."

He glared. It was supposed to be his interrogation, but revealing his own intentions might lead to an interesting conversation as well as more answers. "wondering why exactly you decided to go back and kill all your friends. again. i know you ain't a monster, so there had to be a big reason, and the best i could come up with was a timeline reset." Maybe she was a monster. HIs theory depended upon the fact that she wasn't completely insane. Judging from the laugh that escaped her, it might have been true. He continued on, ignoring her crazed look. "i need to know exactly what you plan on doin'."

Her laughing had been more of a low chuckle, but her grin had grew full out again. "it isn't obvious?"

A glare was all the answer she got in return, but it was good enough.

"With as much LOVE as I have, it'll be easy to reset and move the timeline how I wish. It'll reset, and the only difference would be the lack of me."

Silence filled the room, but a distant echo of her last words remained imprinted upon Sans mind. That was her plan? Killing everyone once again so she had enough power to kill herself? That was dark. That was really dark, and the image of the last Frisk he had seen on the surface flashed through his mind.

Her in her bedroom surrounded by blood. Papyrus' harsh words before then that led to the breaking point for the child. Despite himself, a slow pang of sympathy started to fill his heart. He had wanted to give up for the longest time as well, but maybe he could ask a favor. "will you wipe my memories?"

She simply nodded, and that was all that he needed. No, he wasn't going to stop her. He knew that hopelessness that was driving her to suicide, and as long as she wasn't wiping anyone else out with her, he wouldn't try to stop her. But the promise his memories would be gone was a relief he hadn't expected from the interrogation.

They stared at eachother for a long moment before Sans stood. He allowed Frisk to stand as well, but kept her feet weighted down with his magic. Something tugged at his soul and he stepped forward, receiving a questioning look from Frisk. He almost stopped, but he wouldn't remember it. She wouldn't soon enough either, and soon he had walked right up to her.

He was a bit taller, but that didn't matter. Heights never did when it came to hugs.

Sans, without anymore hesitation, wrapped his arms around the small human. She went rigid, stress radiating off of her. They stood there for a short moment before he actually used his magic to make her hug it back.

'i'm sorry…." Sans whispered softly. "this could have been prevented if i would have done the right thing...but…"

He never finished. Frisk's face was solid as stone, and she couldn't held but feel uncomfortable, but his words sent a pang through her heart. Her vision blurred with tears, but she still refused to speak.

He held her close as tears streamed down his face. They were both sorry, but nothing else needed to be said. He didn't need to explain how sorry he was for her abuse, for the bad life she had been cursed with. She didn't need to explain how sorry she was for the countless murders.

Despite the LV, despite her impatience, and despite the overwhelming determination to die, Frisk was content. She was finally getting an apology from Sans. And, the very thing she had yearned for for years, forgiveness. He had forgiven her, and that meant she could forgive him, but it still felt rushed. She wasn't ready, and probably never would be, but his apology was excepted. Her words didn't come through at all. Her expression didn't change. But tears did run down her face, and that was enough for Sans.

He released her before disappearing in a whiff of blue smoke.

 _Chara?_

The ghost had seen the whole thing, but was surprised when she was talked to. It meant Frisk wasn't ignoring her, and knew she was still there, at least. "Yeah?" She decided talking aloud would be easier. Her overwhelming thoughts might have burst through.

 _You were right. About Sans, I mean._

She didn't respond for a minute, but the irritation was obvious. "I know." Her answer was blunt and to the point. Frisk didn't deserve anything more at the moment. Sans had forgiven her, but Chara wasn't quite ready for that step. Not right now.


	27. Please?

**Okay, I want to explain the lack of last week, but I also don't want to bore you guys. So, I'll sum it up. I was busy. Like, super-duper musicconcerts/englishclass busy. Yeah, not the best excuse, but you don't want to see the rest of my reasons, I bet! This chapter isn't super long either. I've been rushed for time, but I'm still super happy with it. It's short and got some good stuff in it.**

 **I hope you guys are as excited for the next couple of chapters as I am. :3 I'm like, supperr excited. Thanks to the few nice comments I get each time I post! I love them and read them all. Y'all are much appreciated.  
**

* * *

The colorful hall that had held so many nightmares passed quickly. She did have a couple flashbacks, a shudder running through her as phantom pain struck her randomly. Through the chest, where Sans' bones impaled her form. Her arm, where her own bones were cracked and broken. It was faint and quickly disappeared, but she acknowledged it nonetheless.

Because, despite everything, she would win whatever fight she pleased. He couldn't hurt her. The fear beforehand etched upon Frisk's heart was altogether eradicated. Between Sans and Asgore there were no monsters, but she didn't need any. All she needed was to finish. It would be easy, not even a fight really. Not at all, actually. It would be as simple as letting the events happen. Time going by as if it was worthless.

And, for Frisk and Chara, it pretty much was.

Things had been a bit different this run-through, but they never strayed far from the original outcome. She doubted they would here.

Memories of nightmares faded as the colorful, ancient hall transformed into a colorless hallway. The transformation was a bit sudden, but yet seemed so natural. She left color behind, as well as her emotions.

Well, it would be impossible to leave behind emotions, but she did leave behind her ability to care. To worry about all the lives she had taken. That little nagging feeling that something might go terribly wrong.

Her footsteps made a familiar echo upon the dry, gray stone. They were light, but uneven with a limp. And even though she did manage to tread softly, the empty hallway exaggerated the sounds with echos bouncing of dreary walls.

All of her limbs hurt, but her feet especially. They were sore, constricted, and worn out from all the walking. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, and she blinked slowly in the dimness. A spark floated nearby, grasping her attention, and the human quickly moved over to it. She stuck her arms into the warmth.

It filled her to the brim with determination, and slowly began to wash out her pain. Her arms no longer felt as if they were going to fall off. She didn't feel faint and pathetic. No, she felt strong. Frisk felt ready.

She grinned.

There was really nothing to stop her. As she stood, unmoving, there finally was an ultimate silence. Just peace. Frisk glanced at Chara, who floated nearby with an emotionless expression. It only made her grin wider. _Almost there, Chara._

She knew Chara had been stealing her LV. It was impossible to tell quite how much she had stolen, mainly because of the fact that she had mass, uncountable amounts, but that would never be enough. She had plenty of LV, enough to get the job done, and Chara could take almost as much as she liked.

It was a good effort to foil her plan, but ineffective. Chara had even gotten some away without her noticing, but it was when she attempted to sneak the LV away during casual conversation that Frisk figured it out. It felt like a breeze in her mind that flowed through their connection, and left an empty, cold space in her mind.

 **Why would I care?** The response came sharply. Frisk rose her brow, but didn't respond. There was no need to continue an argument that might last a while. With a sigh, she turned away from Chara. She took a few more steps before turning to face the room. There was a short hallway, and the end of it held a lively green room.

Without a further thought of her friend, she stepped inside.

It was a quick walk, made relatively pleasant by the distant, sweet chirping of birds. Frisk briefly wondered if it was simply a recording. She had never actually seen a bird in the even in this room, where the sound of them echoed all around. In all of her times here, she had never considered that.

She hadn't considered a lot of things. But now it was her in control. Chara was the weak one, and Frisk could do whatever she liked. Her eyes fell on the back of her father.

"Curious….I've never seen a plant...cry before…" As they stopped in the large, greenhouse-like room, the king stood with his back to them. He seemed focused on the carpet of yellow flowers that coated the floor. Frisk sniffed.

The figure turned around swiftly, his eyes wide with surprise. He didn't seem to have been expecting them, but it was easy to tell otherwise. There was no way he hadn't been warned of her coming. With wide eyes, Asgore tilted his head to the side curiously. "You must be the one that flower just warned me about." He grinned, so absolutely naive. "Howdy!

There was a pause, but they waited it out.

"Erm…" His face fell, and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "What kind of monster are you?"

 **The worst kind. She's the worst kind, Dad.** Chara muttered it to herself, but the message was relayed over to Frisk. It only brought a bigger smile to the 'monster.'

"Sorry, I cannot tell." His thick accent had been hard to understand the first time she had heard it, but now it came to her naturally. Frisk understood him as a daughter understood a father. Here and now, however, they were sworn enemies.

He was about to speak again, but she quickly cut him off by going into a defensive position. There was a pause, and they stared at eachother for quite some time. A bird tweeted. Asgore raised his hands and shook his head. "Now, now, there's no need to fight!"

Asgore had always been a calm person. He generally managed to stay sane and collected during frantic situations. Others tended to rely on him for support, but no one was here to rely on him. And, Frisk noted with a shiver of glee, he looked scared.

She lowered her arms as he spoke, and he began to seem extremely elated. "Why don't we settle this over a nice cup of tea?" So calm. So very happy that she seemed to be surrendering. Frisk didn't respond to his question because she didn't have to.

His face twisted in pain and collapsed to his knees, gasping. "Why...you…" Speaking didn't do much, and his pitiful words drifted away as if they had never been uttered. Glowing white pebbles surrounded his shaking form and quickly enclosed around him. With wide eyes, he let out a cry as they struck. That was all it took. His body melted into dust.

That was all it took to kill the monster king. Frisk didn't even help.

She stood there for a moment, staring at his soul, and waiting. It soon was shot down as well, broken in half. Chara had expected to at least shed a tear for her beloved father, but she remained unmoved as well.

"See! I never betrayed you!"

And Flowey. Poor, poor Flowey. There was nothing he could do, no plea he could make, to stop Frisk. He didn't even realize that it wasn't Chara in control. He pleaded for his survival, begging her not to kill him. He had always had horrifying expressions, but now they twisted into sadness. Pathetic sadness that he probably didn't even feel.

"Please don't kill me."

His voice was barely a whisper.

" _Please don't kill me."_

And then it was merely an echo.

He was gone, and Frisk grinned. That was all. It was over, and she could finally accomplish her mission. The world was still around her, but she shut her eyes. It became dark, and her plan was about to take place when a cold breeze swept through her mind. A shiver ran down her body. Frisk frantically tried to cut it off.

Chara had made one last attempt to steal LOVE. She didn't get much out, but it was enough to even the odds between the two before before Frisk shut the connection.

Not just shut, but severed.

Frisk tried to open her eyes, but they were heavy. Her body felt extremely loose as well, and she could barely feel the ground as she collapsed. Everything seemed distant, and the world became darkness, but she was still conscious. "CHARA!"

Her voice echoed throughout the dark expanse. It was her mind. The feeling of her body slowly faded away, and she looked down to see her own hands, glowing and pulsing unnaturally. She had a body, but it was ethereal.

Chara had the same. She appeared in front of Frisk, laughing. Her own, human body wasn't much better than a ghost form, but she could stand. It glowed pink. She glowed pink, and upon further examination, both girls looked surprisingly similar. THey couldn't necessarily be called human, however.

It was going to be a battle of the mind.

Frisk had more LOVE, but Chara had more experience in this realm. And Chara? Well, Chara still had _love._


	28. Dun dun DUNNNN

**I seem to be terrible at this 'weekly upload thing' XD. I was in bed last night when I realized 'Oh crup. I didn't upload my chapter today!' Well, riparoni.**

 **I'm sorry y'all I did a terrible job of it! I hope the juiciness (?) of this chapter appeases your appetite, however. Once again, not long, but it's gooood. I think. :D Thanks for being patient with me!**

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"Chara, you aren't going to win this." Frisk was the first to speak, and her words were warbled and echoey. She didn't technically speak, considering this was her mind, so her voice seemed to come from all around. And yet, Chara wasn't surprised.

Frisk, on the other hand, was very surprised when Chara's voice had the same effect. It rattled throughout the dark space, but it only took a second for her to process the reason. Chara was in her head. It was an intrusion of _her_ mind. So, it only made sense, that the laughter in response to her statement seemed a bit overwhelming.

"I'm not so sure about that!" She finally spoke after the fit of laughter, just grinning. Her mouth didn't move, and most people would think it odd, but Frisk was used to communicating telepathically. As was Chara. The odd part about it was actually witnessing Chara inside her head.

Now, it was very easy to say Frisk would win. She did, after all, have the claim to her own mind. But, taking a step back, it becomes obvious that Chara spent more time, physically, at least, in Frisk's mind. And, in the past genocide, they had faced off before in a similar setting. But there were a lot of differences in this case. The two were more evenly matched. It would be hard to predict which would win, and both knew it.

But both were willing to fight.

Frisk clenched her jaw and growled, glaring through her piercing red eyes. "I wouldn't be so sure about _that._ But…." With a pause, she took a moment to think. In reality all of her words were thoughts, but she kept some inside her head. "Chara, just let me win!"

"No." There wasn't even a moment of hesitation there. It was extremely harsh, and echoed a couple of times before fading into nothing. Frisk clenched her fists and let out a sigh. She wasn't expecting this. She wasn't expecting to fight her friend.

But, then again, were they really friends?

At this point?

Could it be….that….

Two best friends, connected for life, finally went foul?

It was hard to believe, but that was exactly what happened. Frisk didn't want to come to terms with it, she still had hope, but that left her when Chara attacked. It was surprising. She wasn't expecting it. And, because of her unreadiness, she payed the price.

Chara cut directly through her with a knife. It was a glowing red, and had just appeared in her hands as she commanded it to. It obviously wasn't real, but it did some damage. Some serious damage. A scream broke from Frisk's lips, but it was silent. Her mouth didn't make sound, only her mind, but she needed some way to relieve the pain.

It didn't last long though. Soon, the piercing, burning feeling across her midsection had faded. She glanced down at her torso to see that, even though it felt like she had been cut in half, her body was still one. Frisk reacted quickly, summoning her own blade. It grew from her palm, and a shudder ran up her arm at the tickling sensation against her hand. Soon, the dagger was flying at Chara.

It was about to hit, but instead ricocheted off a shield that suddenly appeared, fading immediately. Chara did have more experience in this realm. She had much more. But Frisk wasn't about to give up.

This was a battle of the mind. Of her mind. It wouldn't depend on killing or injuring the opponent. It would rely strictly on who could inflict the most _pain,_ and who would give up first. "Now this," Frisk laughed. "This is going to be fun." Her grin grew to match Chara's, and her own shield went up just as a spear was hurled towards her. It hit the glowing wall, before cluttering to the ground.

"I wouldn't say...fun, necessarily." Chara, despite her statement, was grinning. She was enjoying this just as much. Despite the consequences, both were drowning in their LV. Maybe it was a matter of who could stay sane.

"What do you say we forgo the shields?" Frisk held her hands open as she shrugged. "Make it a little more fun, since you don't seem to think so." Chara didn't reply, but she let her own protection fade into nothing. "You aren't going to win this anyway."

"I don't think so. Frisk, i haven't felt something physically for years. Do you think pain will hurt me?" She chuckled softly, summoning two swords in her hands. A helmet might have been nice, but it was decided. No protection. Just _pain._

Frisk let out a laugh. She thought up a large hammer, and it fit perfectly in her hands. "Chara , we both know that isn't true. You haven't felt physically, but I have." The two ran at one another, clashing. As soon as the items touched they disappeared. Both girls were quick to summon more weapons, charging again.

And again.

"So?" Chara hissed.

And again.

"That means you don't have any tolerance!" Laughing, Frisk made it past Chara's defense and plunged a serrated blade into her chest. She let go, the particles dispersing into the darkness until they disappeared.. Stepping back, she admired the twisted look of pain. Chara's face, once grinning, was now twisted and contorted. It looked just like Frisk's did just moments ago when Chara had first attacked.

It faded pretty quickly, however, and Frisk didn't have time to process what happened before another bucket of pain shot up from her shoulder. She let out a cry as Chara stood over her, grinning. There was a pause, and Frisk expected the knife to disappear as it usually did, but nothing happened. It remained in her shoulder, with Chara's hand wrapped around the handle.

They were both quick to figure out the reason why, but it was Chara who acted first. She let go, the blade fizzing to nothing, and whirled around. Frisk knew what was coming, and she lept forward and away, breaking into a sprint.

The items they could summon depended on their own physical contact. It lasted a few seconds after leaving the hand, or dispersed upon contact with something else immediately. Frisk wasn't fast enough, then, when Chara threw a long, heavy chain. It wrapped around her leg, dragging her to the ground, before fading.

Frisk hurried to jump up, but Chara already caught up. Another knife appeared in her hand and she brought it down, impaling it into Frisk's lower back, right in the spine. She spawned a metal plate on her arm and flung it in front of Frisk, effectively holding her in place. It was physically impossible to touch each other with any effect, but she was able to root Frisk down with the two items.

Frisk's face contorted into terror. Paralyzing pain ripped up from her back and shot into her limbs. Her head was thrown back, and her mouth open with silent screaming. It hurt. It hurt like _hell._ And Chara had her pinned. Yet her Determination didn't falter.

There were limits to this area of her mind. She could not just escape this, but she could fight back. She snapped her head up, fighting through the pain, and pressed her hand against Chara's stomach. A glowing blade shot out of her palm and into the ghostly flesh, and she pulled back only to wrap her hand around the hilt. Chara's expression almost matched her own, but she still bore a grin.

Slowly, she made herself mimic it. Now, it was a battle of determination. Who could endure the longest?

The answer came much later.

Both had lost track of time, rooted in once place with weapons planted into eachother. Eventually the pain had become too much, but they still stood with tears streaming down their face. Frisk, it seemed, was the first to go mad.

She laughed and laughed. No sound escaped her mouth, it being impossible in the realm, but occasionally a thought would drift out into the open.

Chara whimpered and slid back a little on the sword in her stomach. Although she held Frisk in place, there was no need for her to be stuck. If it became too much, and it certainly was, then she would have to let Frisk go.

IN the time that passed, they had come up with as many ways as possible to hurt one another. Chara had grown spikes out of the plate on her arm, and had lengthened her blade. She would twist her arm on occasion. From the outside, several spikes protruded from her body. Chara was the same. Initially it was a simply sword in her body, but it twisted in and out of her. THe pain was excruciating, but there was no blood.

There was no surrender.

"F-Frisk…?"

The human snapped her head up, ceasing laughter. Her gaze narrowed into a glare. "What?" Her voice was harsh, and a bit loud.

"Can you trust me?"

Frisk looked like she snorted. "Obviously not."

"I think you can trust me more than yourself."

She shook her head, making sure to prove her point by driving the blade deeper.

Chara grunted. Her mind had been blurry, but an idea slowly formed over the past few minutes. Now it was a full-blown revelation, time to put into action. The sword she had implanted in Frisk's spine grew on the front end to hold her in place. She was able to remove her arm, the plate with spikes slowly disappearing as she let it go.

Another, very small, little sword grew in her hand. It was sturdy, but in reality might not have been able to do what Chara planned. In this realm, however, it went straight through Frisk's skull and into her head.

For Frisk, a huge burst of pain was followed by even more darkness than she thought was ever possible.

Her body grew limp in Chara's arms, but the ghost was afraid to let her fall. She was afraid to let go in case Frisk would wake up, considering she couldn't technically be dead. Could she? Chara glanced her over. She looked pretty dead.

Finally, after a couple minutes of contemplation, she let go of her weapons and her old friend collapsed upon the ground. If their places had been switched, and Frisk was the one who now stood victorious, how would she know how to reset? Chara knew, because she had been here before, and it was a much different experience than dying.

She closed her eyes, summoning all the LV she held to her mind, and then released it out into the world. She let it go with a goal, and it would accomplish it, before the whole timeline would completely reset. If she focused completely, she could see the waves riding through the frozen underground and to the core.

All time had stopped, but it wasn't like anybody was alive for it to really matter.

Chara let out a whimper. Frisk would now have to live with this burden, but maybe she would get some sense into her delusional mind.

Once at the core, all it took was one little hit to break through the wall that held the memories. Chara remembered the blueprint very well, and now that the space was opened, when she went back in time all of the memories would return.

The way completely resetting the timeline worked was complicated. For Frisk to achieve her goal, she would have had to go far out of the Underground and to her parents, before doing something that would prevent her birth. The plan reeked of selfishness, as well as evil.

Chara's, on the other hand, planned to set things right. She planned for everyone's memories to return, so Frisk would see that, even knowing what she did, her friends would forgive her. If they didn't, Chara could always find a way to haunt them for life.

It took mere seconds for everything to shift and get sucked into nothingness. There had been enough of darkness, but the nothingness slowly sucked in consciousness out of Chara.

The next time Chara awoke, she was back at the beginning of the underground. Frisk lay nearby, and for once the little child looked peaceful, sleeping in a bed of golden flowers. It was adorable, honestly, but it wouldn't last long.

Her nose twitched from a flower petal under her nose, and she reached up to itch it with her hand. In the middle of doing so she paused and opened her eyes. They went with wide with alarm, and her face went pale.

They met eachother's gazes.

 _Chara….what did you do?!_


End file.
